Phylogeny
- Pronunciation
- /fye-LOJ-uh-nee/
- Category
- Taxonomy
- Singular
- phylogeny
- Plural
- phylogenies
Definition
The evolutionary history and genealogical relationships among organisms, represented as a branching pattern of descent from common ancestors. In , phylogeny reconstructs the sequence of lineage splits that produced present-day insects, arachnids, and other groups, based on shared derived characters (synapomorphies) from , genetics, or both.
Etymology
From Greek phylon 'tribe, race' + geneia 'origin, birth'
Example
Molecular phylogeny resolved that (mites and ) is not monophyletic, challenging traditional arachnid classification and prompting re-evaluation of character evolution in chelicerates.
Synonyms
- evolutionary history
- genealogy
Related Terms
- Phylogenetic tree
- Cladistics
- synapomorphy
- monophyly
- Systematics
- molecular phylogenetics
- ancestral state reconstruction
Usage Notes
Distinguish from ',' which is the graphical representation of phylogeny. Phylogeny is the historical pattern itself; is the discipline that infers it. In entomology, phylogeny often drives decisions about classification rank and nomenclatural changes.