wastebasket taxon
Definitions
A taxon that exists only to classify organisms that do not fit anywhere else, being either paraphyletic or polyphyletic and therefore not considered valid under modern rules of taxonomy.
Examples
“Extinct forms like⟳ Dimetrodon and Velociraptor are grouped with their living relatives. Therefore, the wastebasket taxon Reptilia is replaced by the clades Diapsida and Synapsida, and birds are classified as dinosaurs.”
CEFR level
B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See also
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