Genus

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1. GiGi
   

   A genus is
   
      1. a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. Other well-known taxonomic ranks are domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, and species, with genus fitting between family and species. Or
      2. a taxonomic unit (a taxon), in that rank. In this case the plural is genera.
   
   The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" (plurals: genera), cognate with Greek: ????? - genos, "race, stock, kin".
   
   Like for the other well-known taxonomic ranks, mentioned above, there is an immediately lower rank, indicated by the prefix sub-, in this case subgenus, plural subgenera. The most important taxonomic unit below the genus is the species, which is the basic rank.
   
   The composition of each genus is determined by a taxonomist, but often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing a genus, but see below for some rules of thumb.

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