Definission: A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. A \r\ntaxon is presumed Extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, \r\nat appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its historic range have failed \r\nto record an individual. Surveys should be over a time frame appropriate to the taxon’s life cycle and life form.
Definission: Living in the fluid medium (water or air) but unable to maintain their position or distribution independently of the movement of the water/air mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
Definission: number of homologous sets of chromosomes in the nucleus or primary chromosome-containing compartment of the cell, each set essentially coding for all the biological traits of the organism.