cryptogenic species

{{Short description|Species of unknown origins}}

A cryptogenic species ("cryptogenic" being derived from Greek "κρυπτός", meaning hidden, and "γένεσις", meaning origin) is a species whose origins are unknown. The cryptogenic species can be an animal or plant, including other kingdoms or domains, such as fungi, algae, bacteria, or even viruses.

In ecology, a cryptogenic species is one which may be either a native species or an introduced species, clear evidence for either origin being absent.{{cite book|page=233|title=Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion|author=Alan Burdick|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|date=2006|isbn=9780374530433}} An example is the Northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) in Alaska and Canada.[https://archive.today/20040827231047/http://www.marine.csiro.au/crimp/nimpis/ NIMPIS Database]

In palaeontology, a cryptogenic species is one which appears in the fossil record without clear affinities to an earlier species.