cetorhinus
A basking shark, or cetorhinus, swims near the ocean surface with its mouth open.
Noun 1. A genus of sharks: Cetorhinus is the genus name for a specific type of shark, containing only one living species. 2. Taxonomic classification: In biological taxonomy, Cetorhinus is the genus comprising the basking sharks. Some classification systems consider it significant enough to be the type genus for its own family, Cetorhinidae.
- The is the second-largest living fish in the world.
- Marine biologists study the filter-feeding mechanism of the genus .
- The fossil record provides evidence of ancient species.
- In scientific literature: The name is used formally in zoological and paleontological contexts to classify and discuss basking sharks and their extinct relatives.
- The paper describes a new fossil specimen attributed to the genus Cetorhinus.
- In taxonomic discussion: Used when debating the hierarchical classification of sharks.
- Some authorities place Cetorhinus within the family Cetorhinidae, while others include it in Lamnidae.
- Cetorhinidae (n): The family name sometimes used for basking sharks, with as the type genus.
- Cetorhinus maximus (n): The full binomial name (genus and species) for the basking shark.
- Genus Cetorhinus: The formal taxonomic synonym.
- (Conceptual) Basking shark genus: A descriptive, non-scientific synonym referring to the same group.
This word has a single, highly specialized meaning in scientific nomenclature. It is not used in everyday language and carries no idiomatic or figurative meanings. Its usage is confined to technical biological and zoological contexts.
A basking shark, or cetorhinus, swims near the ocean surface with its mouth open.
- comprising only the basking sharks; in some classifications considered the type genus of a separate family Cetorhinidae