Fossil Identification Terms

noun a principal taxonomic category that ranks above species and below family, and is denoted by a capitalized Latin name

• The genus Homo includes modern humans and their ancestors.
• I learned about the genus of different animals in biology class.
• That new species belongs to the same genus as the one we saw last week.
• In the genus of music, jazz and blues are closely related.

noun a type of fossilized crinoid marine animal with radiating arms

• The actinocrinus is a type of crinoid that lived during the Paleozoic era.
• Have you seen the actinocrinus fossil at the museum? It's pretty cool.
• That actinocrinus dude looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.
• Her hair cascaded down her back like the arms of an actinocrinus.