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65-410: The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialists on each group of organism. These taxonomists control the quality of the information, which is gathered from the primary scientific literature as well as from some external regional and taxon-specific databases. WoRMS maintains valid names of all marine organisms, but also provides information on synonyms and invalid names. It

130-610: A domain ( / d ə ˈ m eɪ n / or / d oʊ ˈ m eɪ n / ) ( Latin : regio ), also dominion , superkingdom , realm , or empire , is the highest taxonomic rank of all organisms taken together. It was introduced in the three-domain system of taxonomy devised by Carl Woese , Otto Kandler and Mark Wheelis in 1990. According to the domain system, the tree of life consists of either three domains, Archaea , Bacteria , and Eukarya , or two domains , Archaea and Bacteria , with Eukarya included in Archaea. In

195-442: A taxonomic rank ; groups of a given rank can be aggregated to form a more inclusive group of higher rank, thus creating a taxonomic hierarchy. The principal ranks in modern use are domain , kingdom , phylum ( division is sometimes used in botany in place of phylum ), class , order , family , genus , and species . The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus is regarded as the founder of the current system of taxonomy, as he developed

260-469: A basis of morphological and physiological facts as possible, and one in which "place is found for all observational and experimental data relating, even if indirectly, to the constitution, subdivision, origin, and behaviour of species and other taxonomic groups". Ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a great value of acting as permanent stimulants, and if we have some, even vague, ideal of an "omega" taxonomy we may progress

325-557: A chaotic and disorganized taxonomic literature. He not only introduced the standard of class, order, genus, and species, but also made it possible to identify plants and animals from his book, by using the smaller parts of the flower (known as the Linnaean system ). Plant and animal taxonomists regard Linnaeus' work as the "starting point" for valid names (at 1753 and 1758 respectively). Names published before these dates are referred to as "pre-Linnaean", and not considered valid (with

390-615: A common infrastructure. In 2021, a genus of extinct sea snails was named after the WoRMS database: † Wormsina Harzhauser & Landau, 2021 . Taxonomist In biology , taxonomy (from Ancient Greek τάξις ( taxis )  'arrangement' and -νομία ( -nomia )  ' method ') is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing ) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given

455-443: A different sense, to mean the delimitation of species (not subspecies or taxa of other ranks), using whatever investigative techniques are available, and including sophisticated computational or laboratory techniques. Thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined " beta taxonomy " as the classification of ranks higher than species. An understanding of the biological meaning of variation and of the evolutionary origin of groups of related species

520-455: A little way down the Greek alphabet. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a "beta" taxonomy. Turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy. Later authors have used the term in

585-504: A notable renaissance, principally with respect to theoretical content. Part of the theoretical material has to do with evolutionary areas (topics e and f above), the rest relates especially to the problem of classification. Taxonomy is that part of Systematics concerned with topics (a) to (d) above. A whole set of terms including taxonomy, systematic biology, systematics , scientific classification, biological classification, and phylogenetics have at times had overlapping meanings – sometimes

650-516: A ranked system known as Linnaean taxonomy for categorizing organisms and binomial nomenclature for naming organisms. With advances in the theory, data and analytical technology of biological systematics, the Linnaean system has transformed into a system of modern biological classification intended to reflect the evolutionary relationships among organisms, both living and extinct. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but

715-477: A single continuum, as per the scala naturae (the Natural Ladder). This, as well, was taken into consideration in the great chain of being. Advances were made by scholars such as Procopius , Timotheus of Gaza , Demetrios Pepagomenos , and Thomas Aquinas . Medieval thinkers used abstract philosophical and logical categorizations more suited to abstract philosophy than to pragmatic taxonomy. During

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780-491: A taxon involves five main requirements: However, often much more information is included, like the geographic range of the taxon, ecological notes, chemistry, behavior, etc. How researchers arrive at their taxa varies: depending on the available data, and resources, methods vary from simple quantitative or qualitative comparisons of striking features, to elaborate computer analyses of large amounts of DNA sequence data. Domain (biology) In biological taxonomy ,

845-528: A third comprises thematic subsets such as the World Register of Deep-Sea species (WoRDSS) , World Register of Introduced Marine Species (WRiMS) , etc. In all of these cases, the base data are entered and held once only as part of the WoRMS data system for ease of maintenance and data consistency, and are redisplayed as needed in the context of the relevant subregister or subregisters to which they may also belong. Certain subregisters expand content beyond

910-524: A truly scientific attempt to classify organisms did not occur until the 18th century, with the possible exception of Aristotle, whose works hint at a taxonomy. Earlier works were primarily descriptive and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in this scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on arbitrary criteria, the so-called "artificial systems", including Linnaeus 's system of sexual classification for plants (Linnaeus's 1735 classification of animals

975-497: Is a critical component of the taxonomic process. As a result, it informs the user as to what the relatives of the taxon are hypothesized to be. Biological classification uses taxonomic ranks, including among others (in order from most inclusive to least inclusive): Domain , Kingdom , Phylum , Class , Order , Family , Genus , Species , and Strain . The "definition" of a taxon is encapsulated by its description or its diagnosis or by both combined. There are no set rules governing

1040-400: Is a novel analysis of the variation patterns in a particular taxon . This analysis may be executed on the basis of any combination of the various available kinds of characters, such as morphological, anatomical , palynological , biochemical and genetic . A monograph or complete revision is a revision that is comprehensive for a taxon for the information given at a particular time, and for

1105-458: Is a resource for fossils. Biological taxonomy is a sub-discipline of biology , and is generally practiced by biologists known as "taxonomists", though enthusiastic naturalists are also frequently involved in the publication of new taxa. Because taxonomy aims to describe and organize life , the work conducted by taxonomists is essential for the study of biodiversity and the resulting field of conservation biology . Biological classification

1170-400: Is an ongoing task to maintain the registry, since new species are constantly being discovered and described by scientists; in addition, the nomenclature and taxonomy of existing species is often corrected or changed as new research is constantly being published. Subsets of WoRMS content are made available, and can have separate badging and their own home/launch pages, as "subregisters", such as

1235-454: Is considered a part of taxonomy (definitions 1 and 2), or a part of systematics outside taxonomy. For example, definition 6 is paired with the following definition of systematics that places nomenclature outside taxonomy: In 1970, Michener et al. defined "systematic biology" and "taxonomy" (terms that are often confused and used interchangeably) in relation to one another as follows: Systematic biology (hereafter called simply systematics)

1300-419: Is even more important for the second stage of taxonomic activity, the sorting of species into groups of relatives ("taxa") and their arrangement in a hierarchy of higher categories. This activity is what the term classification denotes; it is also referred to as "beta taxonomy". How species should be defined in a particular group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as

1365-400: Is the field that (a) provides scientific names for organisms, (b) describes them, (c) preserves collections of them, (d) provides classifications for the organisms, keys for their identification, and data on their distributions, (e) investigates their evolutionary histories, and (f) considers their environmental adaptations. This is a field with a long history that in recent years has experienced

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1430-448: The 16s ribosomal RNA and discovered that the rank "domain" contained three branches, not two as scientists had previously thought. Initially, due to their physical similarities, Archaea and Bacteria were classified together and called "archaebacteria". However, scientists now know that these two domains are hardly similar and are internally distinctly different. Each of these three domains contains unique ribosomal RNA . This forms

1495-529: The Aristotelian system , with additions concerning the philosophical and existential order of creatures. This included concepts such as the great chain of being in the Western scholastic tradition, again deriving ultimately from Aristotle. The Aristotelian system did not classify plants or fungi , due to the lack of microscopes at the time, as his ideas were based on arranging the complete world in

1560-530: The Neomura , the clade that groups together the Archaea and Eucarya , would have evolved from Bacteria, more precisely from Actinomycetota . His 2004 classification treated the archaeobacteria as part of a subkingdom of the kingdom Bacteria, i.e., he rejected the three-domain system entirely. Stefan Luketa in 2012 proposed a five "dominion" system, adding Prionobiota ( acellular and without nucleic acid ) and Virusobiota (acellular but with nucleic acid) to

1625-512: The Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment , categorizing organisms became more prevalent, and taxonomic works became ambitious enough to replace the ancient texts. This is sometimes credited to the development of sophisticated optical lenses, which allowed the morphology of organisms to be studied in much greater detail. One of the earliest authors to take advantage of this leap in technology

1690-543: The World List of Marine Acanthocephala , World List of Actiniaria , World Amphipoda Database , World Porifera Database , and so on. As of December 2018 there were 60 such taxonomic subregisters, including a number presently under construction. A second category of subregisters comprises regional species databases such as the African Register of Marine Species , Belgian Register of Marine Species , etc., while

1755-439: The species problem . The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy. By extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at the higher taxonomic ranks subgenus and above, or simply in clades that include more than one taxon considered a species, expressed in terms of phylogenetic nomenclature . While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations,

1820-467: The vertebrates ), as well as groups like the sharks and cetaceans , are commonly used. His student Theophrastus (Greece, 370–285 BC) carried on this tradition, mentioning some 500 plants and their uses in his Historia Plantarum . Several plant genera can be traced back to Theophrastus, such as Cornus , Crocus , and Narcissus . Taxonomy in the Middle Ages was largely based on

1885-488: The 1960s. In 1958, Julian Huxley used the term clade . Later, in 1960, Cain and Harrison introduced the term cladistic . The salient feature is arranging taxa in a hierarchical evolutionary tree , with the desideratum that all named taxa are monophyletic. A taxon is called monophyletic if it includes all the descendants of an ancestral form. Groups that have descendant groups removed from them are termed paraphyletic , while groups representing more than one branch from

1950-491: The Origin of Species (1859) led to a new explanation for classifications, based on evolutionary relationships. This was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler (1883) and Engler (1886–1892). The advent of cladistic methodology in the 1970s led to classifications based on the sole criterion of monophyly , supported by the presence of synapomorphies . Since then,

2015-522: The animal and plant kingdoms toward the end of the 18th century, well before Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published. The pattern of the "Natural System" did not entail a generating process, such as evolution, but may have implied it, inspiring early transmutationist thinkers. Among early works exploring the idea of a transmutation of species were Zoonomia in 1796 by Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin's grandfather), and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck 's Philosophie zoologique of 1809. The idea

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2080-627: The bacterial species on the Earth, or organize them into a tree-like structure (unless the structure includes cross-connections between branches, making it a "network" instead of a "tree"). Members of the domain Eukarya – called eukaryotes – have membrane-bound organelles (including a nucleus containing genetic material) and are represented by five kingdoms : Plantae , Protozoa , Animalia , Chromista , and Fungi . The three-domain system includes no form of non-cellular life . Stefan Luketa proposed

2145-1106: The basis of the three-domain system. While the presence of a nuclear membrane differentiates the Eukarya from the Archaea and Bacteria , both of which lack a nuclear envelope , the Archaea and Bacteria are distinct from each other due to differences in the biochemistry of their cell membranes and RNA markers. Archaea are prokaryotic cells, typically characterized by membrane lipids that are branched hydrocarbon chains attached to glycerol by ether linkages. The presence of these ether linkages in Archaea adds to their ability to withstand extreme temperatures and highly acidic conditions, but many archaea live in mild environments. Halophiles , organisms that thrive in highly salty environments, and hyperthermophiles , organisms that thrive in extremely hot environments, are examples of Archaea. Archaea evolved many cell sizes, but all are relatively small. Their size ranges from 0.1 μm to 15 μm diameter and up to 200 μm long. They are about

2210-419: The classification "domain" popular in the famous taxonomy system he created in the middle of the eighteenth century. This system was further improved by the studies of Charles Darwin later on but could not classify bacteria easily, as they have very few observable features to compare to the other domains. Carl Woese made a revolutionary breakthrough when, in 1977, he compared the nucleotide sequences of

2275-426: The core of the discipline remains: the conception, naming, and classification of groups of organisms. As points of reference, recent definitions of taxonomy are presented below: The varied definitions either place taxonomy as a sub-area of systematics (definition 2), invert that relationship (definition 6), or appear to consider the two terms synonymous. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature

2340-550: The definition of taxa, but the naming and publication of new taxa is governed by sets of rules. In zoology , the nomenclature for the more commonly used ranks ( superfamily to subspecies ), is regulated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ( ICZN Code ). In the fields of phycology , mycology , and botany , the naming of taxa is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants ( ICN ). The initial description of

2405-410: The empires Prokaryota and Eukaryota), and the eocyte hypothesis (with two domains of Bacteria and Archaea, with Eukarya included as a branch of Archaea). The term domain was proposed by Carl Woese , Otto Kandler , and Mark Wheelis (1990) in a three-domain system . This term represents a synonym for the category of dominion (Lat. dominium ), introduced by Moore in 1974. Carl Linnaeus made

2470-399: The entire world. Other (partial) revisions may be restricted in the sense that they may only use some of the available character sets or have a limited spatial scope. A revision results in a conformation of or new insights in the relationships between the subtaxa within the taxon under study, which may lead to a change in the classification of these subtaxa, the identification of new subtaxa, or

2535-603: The ether linkages that Archaea have. Internally, bacteria have different RNA structures in their ribosomes , hence they are grouped into a different category. In the two- and three-domain systems, this puts them into a separate domain. There is a great deal of diversity in the domain Bacteria . That diversity is further confounded by the exchange of genes between different bacterial lineages. The occurrence of duplicate genes between otherwise distantly-related bacteria makes it nearly impossible to distinguish bacterial species, count

2600-494: The evidentiary basis has been expanded with data from molecular genetics that for the most part complements traditional morphology . Naming and classifying human surroundings likely began with the onset of language. Distinguishing poisonous plants from edible plants is integral to the survival of human communities. Medicinal plant illustrations show up in Egyptian wall paintings from c.  1500 BC , indicating that

2665-524: The exception of spiders published in Svenska Spindlar ). Even taxonomic names published by Linnaeus himself before these dates are considered pre-Linnaean. Modern taxonomy is heavily influenced by technology such as DNA sequencing , bioinformatics , databases , and imaging . A pattern of groups nested within groups was specified by Linnaeus' classifications of plants and animals, and these patterns began to be represented as dendrograms of

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2730-486: The first modern groups tied to fossil ancestors was birds. Using the then newly discovered fossils of Archaeopteryx and Hesperornis , Thomas Henry Huxley pronounced that they had evolved from dinosaurs, a group formally named by Richard Owen in 1842. The resulting description, that of dinosaurs "giving rise to" or being "the ancestors of" birds, is the essential hallmark of evolutionary taxonomic thinking. As more and more fossil groups were found and recognized in

2795-687: The formal naming of clades. Linnaean ranks are optional and have no formal standing under the PhyloCode , which is intended to coexist with the current, rank-based codes. While popularity of phylogenetic nomenclature has grown steadily in the last few decades, it remains to be seen whether a majority of systematists will eventually adopt the PhyloCode or continue using the current systems of nomenclature that have been employed (and modified, but arguably not as much as some systematists wish) for over 250 years. Well before Linnaeus, plants and animals were considered separate Kingdoms. Linnaeus used this as

2860-466: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, palaeontologists worked to understand the history of animals through the ages by linking together known groups. With the modern evolutionary synthesis of the early 1940s, an essentially modern understanding of the evolution of the major groups was in place. As evolutionary taxonomy is based on Linnaean taxonomic ranks, the two terms are largely interchangeable in modern use. The cladistic method has emerged since

2925-401: The merger of previous subtaxa. Taxonomic characters are the taxonomic attributes that can be used to provide the evidence from which relationships (the phylogeny ) between taxa are inferred. Kinds of taxonomic characters include: The term " alpha taxonomy " is primarily used to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa , particularly species. In earlier literature,

2990-549: The original "marine" concept of WoRMS by including freshwater or terrestrial taxa for completeness in their designated area of interest; such records can be excluded from a standard search of WoRMS by selecting appropriate options in the online search interface. WoRMS was founded in 2008 and grew out of the European Register of Marine Species and the UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO), which

3055-434: The possibilities of closer co-operation with their cytological, ecological and genetics colleagues and to acknowledge that some revision or expansion, perhaps of a drastic nature, of their aims and methods, may be desirable ... Turrill (1935) has suggested that while accepting the older invaluable taxonomy, based on structure, and conveniently designated "alpha", it is possible to glimpse a far-distant taxonomy built upon as wide

3120-818: The rank of Order, although both exclude fossil representatives. A separate compilation (Ruggiero, 2014) covers extant taxa to the rank of Family. Other, database-driven treatments include the Encyclopedia of Life , the Global Biodiversity Information Facility , the NCBI taxonomy database , the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera , the Open Tree of Life , and the Catalogue of Life . The Paleobiology Database

3185-407: The same, sometimes slightly different, but always related and intersecting. The broadest meaning of "taxonomy" is used here. The term itself was introduced in 1813 by de Candolle , in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique . John Lindley provided an early definition of systematics in 1830, although he wrote of "systematic botany" rather than using the term "systematics". Europeans tend to use

3250-454: The size of bacteria, or similar in size to the mitochondria found in eukaryotic cells. Members of the genus Thermoplasma are the smallest of the Archaea. Cyanobacteria and mycoplasmas are two examples of bacteria. Even though bacteria are prokaryotic cells just like Archaea, their cell membranes are instead made of phospholipid bilayers . Bacteria cell membranes are distinct from Archean membranes: They characteristically have none of

3315-472: The term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, and the products of research through the end of the 19th century. William Bertram Turrill introduced the term "alpha taxonomy" in a series of papers published in 1935 and 1937 in which he discussed the philosophy and possible future directions of the discipline of taxonomy. ... there is an increasing desire amongst taxonomists to consider their problems from wider viewpoints, to investigate

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3380-482: The terms "systematics" and "biosystematics" for the study of biodiversity as a whole, whereas North Americans tend to use "taxonomy" more frequently. However, taxonomy, and in particular alpha taxonomy , is more specifically the identification, description, and naming (i.e., nomenclature) of organisms, while "classification" focuses on placing organisms within hierarchical groups that show their relationships to other organisms. A taxonomic revision or taxonomic review

3445-426: The three-domain model , the first two are prokaryotes , single-celled microorganisms without a membrane-bound nucleus . All organisms that have a cell nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles are included in Eukarya and called eukaryotes . Non-cellular life , most notably the viruses , is not included in this system. Alternatives to the three-domain system include the earlier two-empire system (with

3510-510: The three-domain method is the separation of Archaea and Bacteria , previously grouped into the single kingdom Bacteria (a kingdom also sometimes called Monera ), with the Eukaryota for all organisms whose cells contain a nucleus . A small number of scientists include a sixth kingdom, Archaea, but do not accept the domain method. Thomas Cavalier-Smith , who published extensively on the classification of protists , in 2002 proposed that

3575-427: The top rank, dividing the physical world into the vegetable, animal and mineral kingdoms. As advances in microscopy made the classification of microorganisms possible, the number of kingdoms increased, five- and six-kingdom systems being the most common. Domains are a relatively new grouping. First proposed in 1977, Carl Woese 's three-domain system was not generally accepted until later. One main characteristic of

3640-436: The traditional three domains. Partial classifications exist for many individual groups of organisms and are revised and replaced as new information becomes available; however, comprehensive, published treatments of most or all life are rarer; recent examples are that of Adl et al., 2012 and 2019, which covers eukaryotes only with an emphasis on protists, and Ruggiero et al., 2015, covering both eukaryotes and prokaryotes to

3705-518: The tree of life are called polyphyletic . Monophyletic groups are recognized and diagnosed on the basis of synapomorphies , shared derived character states. Cladistic classifications are compatible with traditional Linnean taxonomy and the Codes of Zoological and Botanical nomenclature , to a certain extent. An alternative system of nomenclature, the International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature or PhyloCode has been proposed, which regulates

3770-642: The uses of different species were understood and that a basic taxonomy was in place. Organisms were first classified by Aristotle ( Greece , 384–322 BC) during his stay on the Island of Lesbos . He classified beings by their parts, or in modern terms attributes , such as having live birth, having four legs, laying eggs, having blood, or being warm-bodied. He divided all living things into two groups: plants and animals . Some of his groups of animals, such as Anhaima (animals without blood, translated as invertebrates ) and Enhaima (animals with blood, roughly

3835-454: The year in which the Census of Marine Life was completed. As of February 2018, WoRMS contained listings for 480,931 marine species names (including synonyms) of which 240,633 are valid marine species (95% checked). Their goal is to have a listing for each of the approximately more than 240,000 marine species. VLIZ also hosts the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG), using

3900-486: Was Methodus Plantarum Nova (1682), in which he published details of over 18,000 plant species. At the time, his classifications were perhaps the most complex yet produced by any taxonomist, as he based his taxa on many combined characters. The next major taxonomic works were produced by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (France, 1656–1708). His work from 1700, Institutiones Rei Herbariae , included more than 9000 species in 698 genera, which directly influenced Linnaeus, as it

3965-769: Was compiled by Jacob van der Land (and several colleagues) at the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. It is primarily funded by the European Union and hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Ostend , Belgium. WoRMS has established formal agreements with several other biodiversity projects, including the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Encyclopedia of Life . In 2008, WoRMS stated that it hoped to have an up-to-date record of all marine species completed by 2010,

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4030-555: Was entitled " Systema Naturae " ("the System of Nature"), implying that he, at least, believed that it was more than an "artificial system"). Later came systems based on a more complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as "natural systems", such as those of de Jussieu (1789), de Candolle (1813) and Bentham and Hooker (1862–1863). These classifications described empirical patterns and were pre- evolutionary in thinking. The publication of Charles Darwin 's On

4095-615: Was popularized in the Anglophone world by the speculative but widely read Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation , published anonymously by Robert Chambers in 1844. With Darwin's theory, a general acceptance quickly appeared that a classification should reflect the Darwinian principle of common descent . Tree of life representations became popular in scientific works, with known fossil groups incorporated. One of

4160-543: Was the Italian physician Andrea Cesalpino (1519–1603), who has been called "the first taxonomist". His magnum opus De Plantis came out in 1583, and described more than 1500 plant species. Two large plant families that he first recognized are in use: the Asteraceae and Brassicaceae . In the 17th century John Ray ( England , 1627–1705) wrote many important taxonomic works. Arguably his greatest accomplishment

4225-429: Was the text he used as a young student. The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) ushered in a new era of taxonomy. With his major works Systema Naturae 1st Edition in 1735, Species Plantarum in 1753, and Systema Naturae 10th Edition , he revolutionized modern taxonomy. His works implemented a standardized binomial naming system for animal and plant species, which proved to be an elegant solution to

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