Baitides

Baitides is a term that appears in a range of contexts but lacks a single, universally accepted definition. In taxonomy, baitides is sometimes used as a provisional or informal label for a possible clade, typically in discussions of phylogeny or comparative anatomy. It is not recognized as a formal taxon by major nomenclatural codes, and it does not appear in standard taxonomic databases or checklists. Because it functions as a placeholder, its circumscription—what taxa it would include, and on what basis—varies between authors and studies.

The origin of the term is unclear; it likely derives from standard taxonomic morphology, with the -ides suffix signaling a relational grouping, but there is no canonical etymology. In scientific writing, when baitides is used, it is usually explicitly described as hypothetical and provisional.

Outside of science, baitides is also used in speculative fiction and world-building as the name of a fictional lineage, species, or culture. In such contexts, details are invented for narrative purposes and do not reflect real biological classification.

See also: taxonomic suffixes such as -idae and -inae.