polyphyletic

[ pol-ee-fahy-let-ik ]

adjective

1. developed from more than one ancestral type, as a group of animals.

polyphyletic

/ ˌpɒlɪfaɪˈlɛtɪk /

adjective

1. biology relating to or characterized by descent from more than one ancestral group of animals or plants

polyphyletic

/ pŏl′ē-fī-lĕt′ĭk /

1. Relating to a taxonomic group that does not include the common ancestor of the members of the group and whose members have two or more separate origins. A group that consists of flying vertebrates would be polyphyletic, as bats and birds independently evolved flight and do not share a common ancestor.
2. Compare monophyletic

Derived Forms

• ˌpolyphyˈletically, adverb

Other Words From

• poly·phy·leti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyphyletic¹

First recorded in 1870–75; poly- + phyletic

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyphyletic¹

C19: from poly- + phyletic

Example Sentences

The distinctive combination of primitive and derived characteristics in different early human species perhaps even indicates that the genus Homo is “polyphyletic”: in other words, some members of the genus might have originated independently in different regions of Africa.

From The Guardian

Both cydippid and lobate ctenophores, previously viewed as monophyletic clades, were recovered polyphyletic, indicating independent loss of both the cydippid larval stage and tentacle apparatus.

From Nature

Polyphyletic functional groups in Springer .’s figure 1 are a mere by-product of pruning fossils from a tree, not a result of reanalysis of the original data.

From Science Magazine

Relationships and Phylogeny The Hexapoda form a very clearly defined class of the Arthropoda, and many recent writers have suggested that they must have arisen independently of other Arthropods from annelid worms, and that the Arthropoda must, therefore, be regarded as an “unnatural,” polyphyletic assemblage.

From Project Gutenberg

Polyphyletic, pol-i-fī-let′ik, adj. pertaining to many tribes or families: pertaining to the theory that animals are derived from several sources.

From Project Gutenberg