phylogeny

American  

[fahy-loj-uh-nee] / faɪˈlɒdʒ ə ni /

Also phylogenesis

noun

1. the development or evolution of a particular group of organisms.

2. the evolutionary history of a group of organisms, especially as depicted in a family tree.

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phylogeny British  

/ ˌfaɪləʊˈdʒɛnɪsɪs, ˌfaɪləʊdʒɪˈnɛtɪk, ˌfaɪləʊˈdʒɛnɪk, faɪˈlɒdʒɪnɪ /

noun

1. biology the sequence of events involved in the evolution of a species, genus, etc Compare ontogeny

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phylogeny Scientific  

/ fī-lŏj′ə-nē /

1. The evolutionary development and history of a species or higher taxonomic grouping of organisms.

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Other Word Forms

• phylogenetic adjective
• phylogenetical adjective
• phylogenetically adverb
• phylogenic adjective
• phylogenist noun

Etymology

Origin of phylogeny

First recorded in 1865–70; phylo- + -geny

Example Sentences

The researchers combined these data with a global phylogeny of all plant species and the world's largest database of plant traits, 'TRY'.

From Science Daily

"It describes a new genus and species, but places them in the phylogeny of tardigrades," Nelson told Salon.

From Salon

Next, the team mapped out the branches of the phylogeny that featured living bioluminescent species.

From Science Daily

The results corroborated the systematic membership of Dermaptera to Polyneoptera and strongly supported the phylogeny within the order, which was inferred from the latest molecular phylogenetic analyses but was significantly different from the conventional understanding.

From Science Daily

"Acoustic communication, broadly distributed along the vertebrate phylogeny, plays a fundamental role in parental care, mate attraction and various other behaviours."

From Salon