Lectotype
Encyclopedia
In botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical...

 and zoological nomenclature, a lectotype is a kind of name-bearing type
Name-bearing type
Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature , the name-bearing type is the biological type that determines the application of a name. Each taxon regulated by the Code at least potentially has a name-bearing type. The name-bearing type can be either a type genus , type species , or type...

. When a species was originally described on the basis of a name-bearing type consisting of multiple specimens, one of those may be designated as the lectotype. A lectotype is the single specimen selected from among the syntype
Syntype
In biological nomenclature, a syntype is a term used to indicate a specimen with a special status.In zoological nomenclature, a syntype is defined as "Each specimen of a type series from which neither a holotype nor a lectotype has been designated [Arts. 72.1.2, 73.2, 74]. The syntypes...

s to serve as the only name-bearing type specimen, and is formally designated as such. Having a single name-bearing type reduces the potential for confusion, especially considering that it is not uncommon for a series of syntypes to contain specimens of more than one species.
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