Wastebasket taxon

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Eukaryota
that are not plants, animals or fungi i.e. not complex multicellular organisms.

Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon,

cladistic rules of taxonomy. The name of a wastebasket taxon may in some cases be retained as the designation of an evolutionary grade
, however.

The term was coined in a 1985 essay by

Examples

There are many examples of paraphyletic groups, but true "wastebasket" taxa are those that are known not to, and perhaps not intended to, represent natural groups, but are nevertheless used as convenient groups of organisms. The

acritarchs are perhaps the most famous example. Wastebasket taxa are often old (and perhaps not described with the systematic rigour and precision that is possible in the light of accumulated knowledge of diversity) and populous; further characteristics are reviewed by.[6]

Wastebasket taxa in science

Fossil groups that are poorly known due to fragmentary remains are sometimes grouped together on gross morphology or stratigraphy, only later to be found to be wastebasket taxa, such as the crocodile-like Triassic group Rauisuchia.[13]

One of the roles of taxonomists is to identify wastebasket taxa and reclassify the content into more natural units. Sometimes, during taxonomic revisions, a wastebasket taxon can be salvaged after doing thorough research on its members, and then imposing tighter restrictions on what continues to be included. Such techniques "saved" Carnosauria and Megalosaurus. Other times, the taxonomic name contains too much unrelated "baggage" to be successfully salvaged. As such, it is usually dumped in favour of a new, more restrictive name (for example, Rhynchocephalia), or abandoned altogether (for example, Simia).[citation needed]

Related concepts

A related concept is that of

form taxon, "wastebasket" groupings that are united by gross morphology. This is often result of a common mode of life, often one that is generalist, leading to generally similar body shapes by convergent evolution.[citation needed
]

The term wastebasket taxon is sometimes employed in a derogatory fashion to refer to an evolutionary grade taxon.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. PMID 20739322
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  4. ^ Gould, S. J. (1985). "Treasures in a taxonomic wastebasket". Natural History. 94: 22–33.
  5. S2CID 86606882
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  9. ^ Young AM (2002). "Brief notes on the status of Family Hygrophoraceae Lotsy". Australasian Mycologist. 21 (3): 114–6.
  10. ^ Naish, Darren (8 August 2013). "Phenacodontidae, I feel like I know you". Tetrapod Zoology. Scientific American.
  11. PMID 25295875
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