taxon
noun
tax·on ˈtak-ˌsän 
plural taxa ˈtak-sə also taxons
also taxons 1
: a scientifically classified group or entity : a taxonomic unit (such as a genus or order) of any rank
Like higher taxa, subspecies are also partly objective but partly based on human decision.
Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould… we know from the fossil record that this is a relict taxon … originating 13 million years ago … Bernard Wood et al.
Bernard Wood et al.2
: the name applied to a taxonomic group in a formal system of nomenclature
The marine triclads are formally subsumed in the taxon Maricola … Seth Tyler
Seth Tyler
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The semi-aquatic costs were driven solely by a single species, the yellow fever mosquito, reflecting the substantial human healthcare costs associated with this taxon, the authors note in the study. Sahana Ghosh, Quartz, 10 May 2022 Failure to deposit a new taxon in two culture collections means researchers miss out on publication in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, ICSP’s official journal, a prerequisite for validation. Pratik Pawar, Science | AAAS, 20 Oct. 2020 One of the bite marks may be from an unusually large Allosaurus or a separate, large-bodied taxon such as Saurophaganax or Torvosaurus tanneri, which have been found in other parts of the Morrison Formation. Kristen Rogers, CNN, 27 May 2020 And depending on your view of mammalian evolution, the first taxon to develop diurnality was either the most common recent ancestor of all apes and monkeys or the most common recent ancestor of all… elephant shrews. Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 10 Nov. 2017 The rules for naming a new animal taxon are governed by the ICZN, while the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) governs plants. Benjamin Jones, Smithsonian, 7 Sep. 2017 Global patterns and predictors of marine biodiversity across taxa. Jess Mcnally, WIRED, 28 July 2010 See More
Sahana Ghosh, Quartz, 10 May 2022 Failure to deposit a new taxon in two culture collections means researchers miss out on publication in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, ICSP’s official journal, a prerequisite for validation. Pratik Pawar, Science | AAAS, 20 Oct. 2020 One of the bite marks may be from an unusually large Allosaurus or a separate, large-bodied taxon such as Saurophaganax or Torvosaurus tanneri, which have been found in other parts of the Morrison Formation. Kristen Rogers, CNN, 27 May 2020 And depending on your view of mammalian evolution, the first taxon to develop diurnality was either the most common recent ancestor of all apes and monkeys or the most common recent ancestor of all… elephant shrews. Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 10 Nov. 2017 The rules for naming a new animal taxon are governed by the ICZN, while the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) governs plants. Benjamin Jones, Smithsonian, 7 Sep. 2017 Global patterns and predictors of marine biodiversity across taxa. Jess Mcnally, WIRED, 28 July 2010 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from German Taxon, extracted from Taxonomie taxonomy, with -on functioning as a suffix, based on the Greek neuter noun and participle ending — more at -on entry 2
Note: German Taxon was introduced by the philosopher and historian of the natural sciences Adolf Meyer-Abich (1893-1971) in Logik der Morphologie im Rahmen einer Logik der gesamten Biologie (Berlin, 1926), p. 127.
First Known Use
1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
taxon
noun
tax·on ˈtak-ˌsän
plural taxa -sə also taxons
also taxons 1
: a taxonomic group or entity
2
: the name applied to a taxonomic group in a formal system of nomenclature