taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

, inclusion is the process whereby two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

that were believed to be distinct are found in fact to be the same and are thus combined as one species. Which name is kept for this unified species is sometimes a cause of debate, but generally it is the earlier-named one, and the other species is said to be "included" within this one. Inclusion is far more common in

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

than more recent

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, although it is not unheard of in the latter. When it occurs with more recent or modern species, it is usually the result of a species with wide geographical dispersion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inclusion (Taxonomy) Taxonomy (biology)