A cryptogenic species ("cryptogenic" being derived from Greek "κρυπτός", meaning hidden, and "γένεσις", meaning origin) is a species whose origins are unknown. The cryptogenic species can be an animal or plant, including other kingdoms or domains, such as fungi, algae, bacteria, or even viruses.
In ecology, a cryptogenic species is one which may be either a native species or an introduced species, clear evidence for either origin being absent.[1] An example is the Northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) in Alaska and Canada.[2]
In palaeontology, a cryptogenic species is one which appears in the fossil record without clear affinities to an earlier species.
See also
References
- ^ Alan Burdick (2006). Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 233. ISBN 9780374530433.
- ^ NIMPIS Database
Further reading
- James T. Carlton (1996). "Biological invasions and cryptogenic species". Ecology. Ecological Society of America. 77 (6): 1653–1655. doi:10.2307/2265767. JSTOR 2265767.
- G. J. Inglis; B. J. Hayden & W. A. Nelson (2006). "Are the Marine Biotas of Island Ecosystems More Vulnerable to Invasion?". In Rob Allen (ed.). Biological invasions in New Zealand. Springer. pp. 122–124. ISBN 9783540300229.
This page was last edited on 4 December 2021, at 19:04