In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and restoration ecology concerning a dominant invasive biological type.
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In botany, a monotypic taxon is a taxon that has only one species: Ginkgo is a monotypic genus, while Ginkgoaceae is a monotypic family. The phrase is not accurate in cases where a species includes more than a single type; some species may include several subspecies (or other infraspecific taxa) each of which will have a type. A more accurate term in those cases is unispecific.
In zoology, a monotypic taxon is a taxon that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon.[1] For example, a monotypic genus has only one species. Conversely, one can say that the contained taxon is monotypic within the larger taxon; a genus monotypic within a family.
In the view of evolutionary biology, taxonomy is a means to represent phylogenetic knowledge. Thus, it is usually avoided to establish monotypic taxa if this does not seem warranted e.g. by phylogenetic evidence such as fossils or inference from cladistic analyses[2].
Monotypic habitats occur in botanical and zoological contexts, a component of conservation biology. In restoration ecology of native plant communities or habitats some Invasive species create monotypic stands that replace and/or prevent other species, especially indigenous ones, from growing there. A dominant colonization can occur from retardant chemicals exuded, nutrient monopolization, or from lack of natural controls such as herbivores or climate, that keep them in balance their native habitats. The Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) species is a botanical monotypic habitat example of this, currently dominating over 15,000,000 acres (61,000 km2) in California alone.[3][4]. The non-native freshwater Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) species colonizing areas of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Watershed, without its home range predator control, is a zoological monotypic habitat example.
