Single-Specimen Species: Difference between revisions

Obviously different from the [[One-Gender Race]] as there's only one specimen, and the concept of gender may not even apply. Also different from [[Last of His Kind]], as that implies the existence of more of the same species in the past, or [[A Kind of One]], where a whole species is known by the name of its most famous member, who may initially have been this.

 

 

Not to be confused with [[Only You Can Repopulate My Race]] (which is ecologically implausible for [[Adam and Eve Plot|entirely different reasons]]).

** In the ''[[Mithgar]]'' books, which started as Tolkien fanfic complete with pseudo-Moria and pseudo-Watcher, there is eventually an explanation both for the ecology and how such a huge monster got into the isolated lake - it's a kraken, they're part of a [[Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism]] with dragons, and a dragon flew by and dropped it into the lake to annoy the dwarves. {{spoiler|The dwarves manage to kill it by breaking the dam and draining the lake.}}

* The title "character" in ''[[The Illuminatus Trilogy|The Illuminatus Trilogy: Leviathan]]'' is a gigantic single-celled organism at the bottom of the ocean, a result of the first cell division that just got bigger and bigger while the rest of life on Earth developed into multicellular organisms. {{spoiler|It's actually just a metaphor for the State. Straight out of Thomas Hobbes' article of the same name.}}

* Adam in [[The Bible]] qualified, before Eve entered the picture. Not to mention [[God]] himself, of course.

* The Incredibly Deadly Viper in ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]''

* Tales of the [[Loch Ness Monster]].

** Unless it actually is a type of aquatic dinosaur, if it exists. That would make it a [[Last of His Kind]] scenario.

* Some long-extinct species are known from only one fossil (hence a single specimen), which can make it difficult to know which features were common to the whole species and which were specific to the organism; for example, the specimen may have had a genetic disorder, or may be younger (and hence smaller) than average. Also, even after other fossils are uncovered, the original discovery [[A Kind of One|may be so iconic]] that it is forever tied to the species, especially if the original has a name: far more people know about "Lucy" than about ''Australopithecus afarensis''.

* These examples overlap with [[Last of His Kind]]

[[Category:Artistic License Biology]]

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