Ah no, Emilio, a lectotype is a specimen that is selected (and published) as the holotype from a series of syntypes. Until such a selection is published, all the syntypes are of equal rank, which can cause difficulties if they prove to belong to more than one species, as has frequently happened. "Lectotype" is a fully acceptable modern term, unlike "cotype". Incidentally, lectotypes (and neotypes, which replace lost or destroyed holotypes) should be proposed only during the revision of a species, genus, or family, not as a matter of curatorial tidiness. Picking the wrong lectotype can cause more harm than good. You have, however, correctly described an earlier concept of the "type specimen" itself. Some workers, such as T. A. Conrad, would make a composite drawing of a new species, based on several specimens (none of which might be complete). The drawing thus represents no single specimen, but a reconstruction or ideal concept of a species. In most cases, Conrad did it well; nevertheless, it is disconcerting when one finds that none of the syntypes match the drawing. Andrew K. Rindsberg Geological Survey of Alabama "I hope we stay serene and calm When Alabama gets the Bomb." Tom Lehrer, "Who's Next?"