ˈsubˌgenus
Pl. ˈsubˌgenera.
[f. sub- 7 b + genus. Cf. F. sous-genre (Cuvier).]
A subordinate genus; a subdivision of a genus of higher rank than a species.
| 1813 Prichard Phys. Hist. Man iii. §3. 110 The family of Mustelæ are distinguished by Cuvier into four departments or sub-genera. Ibid. 111 An American animal of the sub-genus Mephitis. 1849 Balfour Man. Bot. §708 Occasionally, a subgenus is formed by grouping certain species, which agree more nearly with each other in some important particulars than the other species of the genus. 1857 [see subclass]. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 733/1 The well-known Gold and Silver Pheasants..each the type of a distinct section of sub-genus. |