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

  1. ↑ Alan Burdick (2006). Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 233. ISBN 9780374530433.
  2. ↑ 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.
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