phyletic
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of phyletic
1880–85; Greek phȳletikós pertaining to a tribesman, equivalent to phȳlét ( ēs ) tribesman (derivative of phȳ́lē phyle ) + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Researchers have found striking examples of gift-giving across the phyletic landscape, in insects, spiders, mollusks, birds and mammals.
From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2013
Venoms and repellents are hardly rare in nature: Many insects, frogs, snakes, jellyfish and other phyletic characters use them with abandon.
From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2012
The earliest members of a phyletic series are usually small in size and undifferentiated in structure, while the later members show a progressive increase in size and complexity.
From Form and Function A Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology by E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
If this assumption is correct, Phyllomedusa and Agalychnis represent different phyletic lines; each exhibits divergent modes of adaptation for arboreal habits, whereas Pachymedusa probably remains relatively little changed from the basic phyllomedusine stock.
From The Genera of Phyllomedusine Frogs (Anura Hylidae) by Duellman, William E.
But, as Weismann remarks, Nägeli's phyletic force is conceived as a thoroughly scientific mechanical principle.
From A Mechanico-Physiological Theory of Organic Evolution by Nägeli, Carl Von
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