klepton

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English[edit]

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Etymology[edit]

Ancient Greek κλέπτ(ης) (klépt(ēs), thief) + -on, after taxon

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Noun[edit]

klepton (plural kleptons or klepta)

  1. (biology) A species that requires input from another biological taxon (normally from a species which is closely related to the kleptonic species) to complete its reproductive cycle.
    • 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 157:
      Most kleptons are female, and some don’t use the genes of the male at all, merely deploying his sperm to stimulate the egg into development without fertilising it.

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