taxon

noun tax·on \ ˈtak-ˌsän \

Definition of taxon

plural taxa play \ˈtak-sə\ also taxons

1 : a taxonomic group or entity

2 : the name applied to a taxonomic group in a formal system of nomenclature

Recent Examples of taxon from the Web

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, "Dinosaurs kept mammals in the dark," 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, "A Few Bad Scientists Are Threatening to Topple Taxonomy," 7 Sep. 2017
Global patterns and predictors of marine biodiversity across taxa.

— jess mcnally, WIRED, "Warming of Oceans Will Reduce and Rearrange Marine Life," 28 July 2010

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'taxon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.