Circumscription (taxonomy)

In biological taxonomy, circumscription is the definition of a taxon, that is, a

group of organisms.

One goal of biological taxonomy is to achieve a stable circumscription for every

taxon. Achieving stability is not yet a certainty in most taxa, and many that had
been regarded as stable for decades are in upheaval in the light of rapid
developments in molecular phylogenetics. In essence, new discoveries may
invalidate the application of irrelevant attributes used in established or obsolete
circumscriptions, or present new attributes useful in cladistic taxonomy.

An example of a taxonomic group with unstable circumscription is

Anacardiaceae, a family of flowering plants. Some experts favor a
circumscription[1] in which this family includes the Blepharocaryaceae,
Julianaceae, and Podoaceae, which are sometimes considered to be separate
families.[2]

See also
Glossary of scientific naming
Circumscription (logic)
Circumscriptional name
Circumscribed circle
Venn diagram

References
1. Anacardiaceae (http://delta-intkey.com/angio/www/anacardi.htm) Archived (
https://web.archive.org/web/20050315000926/http://delta-intkey.com/angio/
www/anacardi.htm) March 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine in L. Watson
and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants. (http://de
lta-intkey.com/angio/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201012130414
59/http://delta-intkey.com/angio/) December 13, 2010, at the Wayback
Machine
2. Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (http://www.
mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/). Version 9, June 2008 [and more or
less continuously updated since].
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This page was last edited on 19 August 2019, at 07:11 (UTC).

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