immaturus

Immaturus is a Latin adjective meaning not mature or undeveloped. In scientific writing, it is used to indicate that a specimen, specimen form, or characteristic is juvenile or in an immature state. The term appears in taxonomic contexts as an epithet within binomial names across plants and animals, signaling that the described entity is at a juvenile ontogenetic stage or exhibits juvenile features.

Grammatical forms and usage follow Latin rules for adjectives. The masculine form is immaturus, the feminine form immatura, and the neuter form immaturum. As with other Latin adjectives used in taxonomy, the form must agree in gender with the genus name, so immaturus would be used with masculine genera, immatura with feminine genera, and immaturum with neuter genera.

Etymology traces immaturus to in- (not) and maturus (ripe, grown), reflecting the classical sense of lack of maturity. The term has been employed in scientific descriptions since antiquity and continued in modern Latin-based taxonomic naming conventions. In practice, immaturus is typically a descriptive descriptor rather than a taxonomic rank itself; it does not denote a separate taxon but a characteristic of the specimen or form described.

Notes and cautions: im.maturus as a species epithet conveys information about developmental stage, but the precise interpretation depends on the original description and context. It is not a stand-alone genus and should be read in conjunction with the genus name it accompanies.

See also: maturity, immaturity, ontogeny.