A cryptogenic species ("cryptogenic" being derived from Greek "κρυπτός", meaning hidden, and "γένεσις", meaning origin) is a species whose origins are unknown.
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. An example is the Northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) in Alaska and Canada.
In palaeontology, a cryptogenic species is one which appears in the fossil record without clear affinities to an earlier species.
Famous quotes containing the word species:
“Single-mindedness is all very well in cows or baboons; in an animal claiming to belong to the same species as Shakespeare it is simply disgraceful.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)