In biology, a genus (plural: genera) is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia. Genera and higher taxonomic levels such as families are used in biodiversity studies, particularly in fossil studies since species cannot always be confidently identified and genera and families typiclaly have longer stratigraphic ranges then species.

The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender", cognate with – ''genos'', "race, stock, kin".

The composition of a genus is determined by a taxonomist. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, and hence different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. In the hierarchy of the binomial classification system, genus comes above species and below family.

Generic name

The scientific name of a genus may be called the generic name or generic epithet: it is always capitalized. It plays a pivotal role in binomial nomenclature, the system of biological nomenclature.

Binomial nomenclature

The rules for scientific names are laid down in the Nomenclature Codes; depending on the kind of organism and the Kingdom it belongs to, a different Code may apply, with different rules, laid down in a different terminology. The advantages of scientific over common names are that they are accepted by speakers of all languages, and that each species has only one name. This reduces the confusion that may arise from the use of a common name to designate different things in different places (example elk), or from the existence of several common names for a single species.

It is possible for a genus to be assigned to a kingdom governed by one particular Nomenclature Code by one taxonomist, while other taxonomists assign it to a kingdom governed by a different Code, but this is the exception, not the rule.

Pivotal in binomial nomenclature

The generic name often is a component of the names of taxa of lower rank. For example, ''Canis lupus'' is the scientific name of the Gray wolf, a species, with ''Canis'' the generic name for the dog and its close relatives, and with ''lupus'' particular (specific) for the wolf (''lupus'' is written in lower case). Similarly, ''Canis lupus familiaris'' is the scientific name for the domestic dog.

Taxonomic units in higher ranks often have a name that is based on a generic name, such as the family name Canidae, which is based on ''Canis''. However, not all names in higher ranks are necessarily based on the name of a genus: for example, Carnivora is the name for the order to which the dog belongs.

The problem of identical names used for different genera

A genus in one kingdom is allowed to bear a scientific name that is in use as a generic name (or the name of a taxon in another rank) in a kingdom that is governed by a different nomenclature code. Although this is discouraged by both the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, there are some five thousand such names that are in use in more than one kingdom. For instance, ''Anura'' is the name of the order of frogs but also is the name of a genus of plants (although not current: it is a synonym); ''Aotus'' is the genus of golden peas and night monkeys; ''Oenanthe'' is the genus of wheatears and water dropworts, ''Prunella'' is the genus of accentors and self-heal, and ''Proboscidea'' is the order of elephants and the genus of devil's claws.

Within the same kingdom one generic name can apply to only one genus. This explains why the platypus genus is named ''Ornithorhynchus''—George Shaw named it ''Platypus'' in 1799, but the name ''Platypus'' had already been given to a group of ambrosia beetles by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. Names with the same form but applying to different taxa are called homonyms. Since beetles and platypuses are both members of the kingdom Animalia, the name ''Platypus'' could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name ''Ornithorhynchus'' in 1800.

Types and genera

Because of the rules of scientific naming, or "binomial nomenclature", each genus should have a designated type, although in practice there is a backlog of older names that may not yet have a type. In zoology this is the type species; the generic name is permanently associated with the type specimen of its type species. Should this specimen turn out to be assignable to another genus, the generic name linked to it becomes a junior synonym, and the remaining taxa in the former genus need to be reassessed.

See scientific classification and nomenclature codes for more details of this system. Also see type genus.

Guidelines

There are no hard and fast rules that a taxonomist has to follow in deciding what does and what does not belong in a particular genus. This does not mean that there is no common ground among taxonomists in what constitutes a "good" genus. For instance, some rules-of-thumb for delimiting a genus are outlined in Gill. According to these, a genus should fulfill three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together; # reasonable compactness – a genus should not be expanded needlessly; and # distinctness – in regards of evolutionarily relevant criteria, i.e. ecology, morphology, or biogeography; note that DNA sequences are a ''consequence'' rather than a ''condition'' of diverging evolutionary lineages except in cases where they directly inhibit gene flow (e.g. postzygotic barriers).

Nomenclature

None of the nomenclature codes require such criteria for defining a genus, because these are concerned with the nomenclature rules, not with taxonomy. These regulate formal nomenclature, aiming for universal and stable scientific names.

See also

Andrew Delmar Hopkins

List of the largest genera of flowering plants

References

External links

Nomenclator Zoologicus: Index of all genus and subgenus names in zoological nomenclature from 1758 to 2004.

Fauna Europaea Database for Taxonomy

Category:Scientific classification Category:Botanical nomenclature Category:Zoological nomenclature

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Coordinates	21°50′20″N45°23′29″N
name	Nadia Ali
background	solo_singer
birth name	Nadia Ali
born	August 03, 1980 in Libya
origin	Queens, New York, United States
instrument	Vocals
genre	Electronic dance music, trance, house
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	2001–present
label	Smile in Bed
associated acts	iiO, Armin van Buuren, Morgan Page
website
notable instruments	}}

Nadia Ali (}}; born August 3, 1980) is a Pakistani-American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted across several countries in Europe. Their 2006 single, "Is It Love?", reached the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart.

After embarking on a solo career in 2005, Ali became successful as an oft-requested vocalist in electronic dance music. She released her debut album ''Embers'' in 2009. Critics praised her unique songwriting, which combined electronica with ballads, Eastern and acoustic music. Three singles from the album reached the top-ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart, including the No. 1 hit, "Love Story". The song was also nominated at the International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference, while "Fantasy" was nominated for a Grammy award. She has collaborated with several notable producers and DJs, such as Armin van Buuren, Schiller, BT, John Creamer & Stephane K and Avicii. Ali is currently working on her second studio album.

Life and career

1980–2004: Early life and iiO

Nadia Ali was born in Libya to Pakistani parents in 1980. The family relocated when she was five years old and she was subsequently raised in Queens, New York. An eight year old Ali used any opportunity she could get to sing after a friend heard her humming a Madonna song at school and complimented her. While continuing singing as a hobby and for the thrill of performing and receiving no formal vocal training, she had also started writing poems and songs for her friends by the time she was 15. As a teenager her interest in dance music developed after visiting nightclubs in Manhattan and inspired her to dream that she would one day be featured on one of the records playing in the club.

Ali started working in the New York offices of Versace when she was 17, where she attracted attention by singing at the Christmas parties. A colleague from Versace introduced her to producer Markus Moser, who was looking for a female singer to collaborate on some of his original production for a girl group in Germany. The two teamed up with Moser working on production, while Ali wrote the lyrics and vocals for the songs. Her first song was the single "Rapture", which she wrote in 30 minutes based on an encounter with an Australian nightclub patron. Released in 2001, the single became a commercial success peaking at No. 2 on UK Singles Chart and ''Billboard's'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart, while charting in several countries in Europe. The success of "Rapture", Ali said, caused the formation of iiO as the music they were initially working on was quite different from dance music and were asked to come up with a project name to promote the single. They originally named themselves Vaiio after the Sony VAIO laptop Ali used to write the lyrics on. The duo toured internationally and released several more singles, including "At the End", "Runaway", "Smooth", and "Kiss You". Their first studio album, ''Poetica'' followed in 2005.

Ali left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career, while Moser continued to release iiO material featuring her on vocals. Most notably, these releases include the 2006 single "Is It Love?", which reached No. 1 in America on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart, the 2007 remix album ''Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed'' and the 2011 studio album ''Exit 110''.

Her decision to pursue a career as a singer was not initially encouraged by her Pakistani parents who were academically inclined and wanted her to pursue a more stable career. She has said since then they have evolved and are one of her biggest supporters. Speaking of her identity as a Pakistani and Muslim woman, she has said it is very important to her to set an example that they are able to contribute positively and capable of taking their career into their own hands. Explaining further, she said that she feels it as her responsibility to any women who are sometimes stereotyped to show that they can contribute to arts or any professional field. Her ethnicity, she has stated, has been an advantage and helped her stand out in the entertainment industry. She has said that over the years, she has met South Asian women who have told her that her story has inspired them to pursue something they loved.

2005–09: ''Embers''

Ali started working on her debut solo album soon after leaving iiO, a process which took her four years. She attributed the delay to her busy tour schedule and the fact that she was still learning and "trying to establish her identity as a songwriter and co-producer". Her first solo release was a collaboration with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, titled "Who is Watching?", the track appeared on his 2005 album ''Shivers''. She has described "Who is Watching?" as one of her most meaningful songs, the song described one's struggle to reach the top, only to realise once one is there how lonely it is and how one has forgotten their priorities and the important people in their life. This was followed by "Something to Lose" in 2006, a duet with singer-songwriter Rosko, produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and released by Ultra Records. The track was licensed to Roger Sanchez's ''Release Yourself, Vol. 5'', as well as Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish for his Global Underground debut ''Dubai''.

In June 2008, she released "Crash and Burn", the first single from her solo album. The single became a club success peaking at No. 6 on ''Billboard's'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart. She released the second single, "Love Story" from the as-yet untitled album in February 2009. It topped ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart in April 2009 and was nominated for the Best Progressive/House Track at the 2010 International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference. Ali was featured on MTV Iggy in March 2009, where she recorded three live acoustic videos, performing "Rapture", "Crash and Burn" and "Love Story".

The third single "Fine Print" was released in July 2009. Ali announced that the single preceded the release of her debut solo album ''Embers''. The single peaked at No. 4 on ''Billboard's'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart. ''Embers'' was released in September 2009. Co-produced by Sultan & Ned Shepard, Alex Sayz and Scott Fritz, Ali self-released the album on her own label, Smile in Bed Records. ''Embers'' generally received positive reviews, Chase Gran from About.com called it a "well rounded, gourmet album with impressive songs". Gail Navarro from Racket magazine complimented Ali on her songwriting saying, "It wasn’t just her sultry sound mixed in together with that enchanting singing voice; her songwriting got me hook, line and sinker". Speaking about the self-release of the album, she has cited her creative independence and the pressure of deadlines as the main reasons why she created her own record label. She chose to release her singles and albums digitally citing the nature of the electronic music audience with the listener choosing to click a button and getting music instantly and the traditional method of distribution deals in the United States.

Ali released two collaborations in 2009, the first "Better Run" with Tocadisco was released on his album ''TOCA 128.0 FM'', and "12 Wives In Tehran" with Serge Devant was released on his album ''Wanderer''.

2010–present: ''Queen of Clubs Trilogy'' and other projects

Ali's first release in 2010 was the track "Try", a collaboration with German producer Schiller, chosen as the lead single from his album ''Atemlos'', the music video premiered on YouTube in February 2010. In April 2010, Ali released "Fantasy", the fourth single from ''Embers''. The track was chosen as a single by her fans after a poll conducted by Ali on her Facebook page. The music video for "Fantasy" was set to the Morgan Page remix, which served as a prologue to Ali's next project; ''Queen of Clubs Trilogy: The Best of Nadia Ali Remixed''. Speaking about the project, Ali mentioned that she wanted a remix compilation, which spanned the 10 years of her career from her one-half as iiO, to her solo album and collaborations. Explaining the name of the concept, she said she wanted to incorporate her upbringing in Queens and the fact that her music is predominantly played in nightclubs. Using that inspiration, she decided to use the playing card "Queen of Clubs" as the title, portraying herself as the Queen, a move she described as "audacious" but something she felt she could prove because she had the substance. The package was broken into three releases: ''Ruby Edition'' (August 2010), ''Onyx Edition'' (October 2010) and ''Diamond Edition'' (December 2010). It featured collaborations with, and remixes by, Armin van Buuren, Gareth Emery and Avicii amongst several other prominent DJs and producers.

I think the fact that it (electronic dance music) is mostly male dominated makes females stand out that much more if they are driven enough. I believe anything is possible with hard work.

- Nadia Ali

With a decade-long career, MTV described Ali as one of the "enduring empresses" of electronic dance music and the ''Queen of Clubs Trilogy'' as "aptly titled". Noted for being the "definitive" voice of dance music, she is said to have "enriched" and "invigorated" the genre. Ali has went on to become an oft-requested collaborator by DJs and producers. She was praised for acquiring notability in a male and DJ-dominated genre where vocalists serve as supporting acts. In December 2010 she received her first Grammy nomination when the Morgan Page remix of "Fantasy" was nominated in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category.

Her first track with iiO, "Rapture" was re-released as a single from ''Queen of Clubs Trilogy'' with remixes by Tristan Garner, Gareth Emery and Avicii. A new music video for the track was shot based on the "Queen of Clubs" theme and released on January 24, 2011. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Romanian Top 100 chart, while charting in other European countries.

Throughout 2010, Ali's collaborations with DJs and producers were released. These included remixes of her upcoming collaboration "That Day" with Dresden and Johnston, which were released on compilation albums. The next, "The Notice" with Swiss duo Chris Reece was released on July 13 on all digital retailers. Ali was featured on the track "Feels So Good" on Armin van Buuren's fourth album ''Mirage''. The song was released as the fifth single from the album on June 20, 2011. She was also a featured guest on his Armin Only tour.

During 2011, Ali announced the release of collaborations with several DJs and producers. The first of these was "Call My Name" with the duo Sultan & Ned Shepard, released by Harem Records on February 9. "Call My Name" has been a club success, charting at No. 5 on ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The second track "Pressure", a collaboration with Starkillers and Alex Kenji was released on February 15 by Spinnin' Records. On May 23, her next collaboration, "Free To Go" with Alex Sayz was released by Zouk Recordings. She will be featured on Sander van Doorn's upcoming album ''Eleve11'' on the track "Rolling the Dice", a collaboration between her, van Doorn and Sidney Samson. Other collaborators include Morgan Page and BT. Ali has said in the future she would like to focus more on production and songwriting and is currently writing songs for Tocadisco, Avicii, Hardwell, Sultan & Ned Shepard, EDX and Pete tha Zouk. As of November 2010, she is working on her second studio album and an experimental acoustic project. On June 28, Ali released the track "When it Rains" on her YouTube channel, announcing that it will be the first single from her upcoming album.

Musical style and influences

Ali is perhaps most strongly known for her "enchanting singing voice", "lyrical depth and eloquence" and the "omnipresent quality" in her delivery. Reema Kumari Jadeja from MOBO described her work as "masterfully encapsulating euphoric and melancholic, Ali’s signature music style sees Eastern mystique caressed with intelligent electronica and fortified with soul". The songs on ''Embers'' were likened to Madonna's work in her prime and a "modern re-intepretation" of Stevie Nicks. Ali has been influenced by an eclectic mix of artists, which she credits to her Eastern background and upbringing in Queens. She listed alternative, folk, Indian and Pakistani music as her biggest influences. Some of her vocal and songwriting influences, she said, were Stevie Nicks, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Madonna, Sade and Bono.

Her debut album was noted for a blend of electronica, acoustic and Middle Eastern melodies. Speaking about ''Embers'', Ali said she did not want a typical dance record and chose to experiment, particularly with the number of ballads on the album. Ali has collaborated with DJs from a broad range of genres and styles in electronic dance music. Some of the resulting work has been described as minimal trance, "sad disco" and "mainstream pop".

She has been praised for her songwriting, describing personal experiences with people, which "hit a powerful and striking chord" with the listener. Ali has said she almost always prefers to sing a song she has written herself and that the best songs are mostly written when they narrate a true account. The songs on ''Embers'', Ali has stated, describe the relationships she has experienced and the emotions they have left behind. The song "Fantasy", she said, summed her up how she likes to be recognised, "an emotional songwriter who loves being a part of electronic music".

Discography

;Studio albums

''Embers'' (2009)

;Compilations

''Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Ruby Edition'' (2010)

''Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Onyx Edition'' (2010)

''Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Diamond Edition'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

|- | style="text-align:center;"|2010 | rowspan="1" style="text-align:left;"|"Love Story" | Best Progressive/Tech House Track at International Dance Music Awards | |- | style="text-align:center;"|2011 | rowspan="1" style="text-align:left;"|"Fantasy (Morgan Page Remix)" | Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at 53rd Grammy Awards | |-

References

External links

Official Website

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:American female singers Category:American house musicians Category:American musicians of Pakistani descent Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American Muslims Category:Pakistani emigrants to the United States Category:People from New York City Category:Pakistani Muslims Category:Pakistani female singers

ar:نادية علي de:Nadia Ali fr:Nadia Ali pl:Nadia Ali pt:Nadia Ali tr:Nadia Ali