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In biology the phrase '''type genus''' is used differently depending on the nomenclatural ''Code'' that applies:

★ In zoological nomenclature, a type genus is "The nominal genus that is the name-bearing type of a nominal family-group taxon."

★ In botanical nomenclature, the phrase "type genus" is used, unofficially, as a term of convenience. In the ''ICBN'' this phrase has no status. The names of all taxa in a rank higher than genus are based on a generic name (except in the case of a descriptive name). This generic name is ''informally'' called the type genus of that higher ranking taxon.
:: Example: The sentence "''Faba'' is the type genus of the family ''Fabaceae''" is another way of saying that the family name ''Fabaceae'' is based on the generic name ''Faba''. Note that this should not be taken as an indication that there is an actual genus ''Faba'', or that there are species whose name starts with ''Faba''.