phyletic

American  

[fahy-let-ik] / faɪˈlɛt ɪk /

adjective

Biology.

1. of, relating to, or based on the evolutionary history of a group of organisms; phylogenetic.

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phyletic British  

/ ˌfaɪləʊdʒɪˈnɛtɪk, faɪˈlɛtɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the evolution of a species or group of organisms

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Other Word Forms

• phyletically adjective

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

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

If subsequent investigations show, as seems likely, that the small specialized phyllomedusines are a natural phyletic unit, the generic name Pithecopus is available.

From The Genera of Phyllomedusine Frogs (Anura Hylidae) by Duellman, William E.

Haeckel says the sense of duty is a "long series of phyletic modifications of the phronema of the cortex."

From Christianity and Progress by Fosdick, Harry Emerson

Perhaps next to dancing in phyletic motivation come personal conflicts, such as wrestling, fighting, boxing, dueling, and in some sense, hunting.

From Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene by Hall, G. Stanley