vicariant

British

/ vɪˈkɛərɪənt, vaɪ- /

noun

any of several closely related species, races, etc, each of which exists in a separate geographical area: assumed to have originated from a single population that became dispersed by geological events

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

vicariance noun

Etymology

Origin of vicariant

C20: from Latin vicārius (see _vicar ) + _-ant

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.

Unlike maize and sorghum, however, and give rise to fertile hybrids, consistent with the vicariant hypothesis for phylogeographical divergence, in which geographically isolated species are under no selective pressure to evolve reproductive isolation.

From Nature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023