speciation

[ spee-shee-ey-shuhn, -see-ey- ]

noun

, Biology.

1. the formation of new species specie species as a result of geographic, physiological, anatomical, or behavioral factors that prevent previously interbreeding populations from breeding with each other.

speciation

/ ˌspiːʃɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the evolutionary development of a biological species, as by geographical isolation of a group of individuals from the main stock

speciation

/ spē′shē-ā′shən /

1. The formation of new biological species by the development or branching of one species into two or more genetically distinct ones. The divergence of species is thought to result primarily from the geographic isolation of a population, especially when confronted with environmental conditions that vary from those experienced by the rest of the species, and from the random change in the frequency of certain alleles (known as genetic drift ). According to the theory of evolution, all life on Earth has resulted from the speciation of earlier organisms.
2. See also adaptive radiation

Word History and Origins

Origin of speciation¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; speci(es) + -ation

Word History and Origins

Origin of speciation¹

C20: from species + -ation

Example Sentences

The result, in the first half of the book, is a dense but lucid guide to the history and biology of speciation on Earth.

From Washington Post

An initial pulse of evolution produced a slew of new species with different body shapes, which lent support to the idea that speciation is concentrated near the beginning of an adaptive radiation.

From Quanta Magazine

Proponents of the hologenome idea, meanwhile, have tried to demonstrate that microbes can drive speciation.

From Nautilus

Natural selection plus geographical and ecological isolation has undoubtedly been operative in speciation and in subspeciation.

From Project Gutenberg

Nutrition may be also a factor influencing speciation in bird life.

From Project Gutenberg

According to present-day concepts of variation and speciation, Andersen's criteria are artificial.

From Project Gutenberg

Additional remarks on the distribution of this species are in the section on Zoogeography and Speciation.

From Project Gutenberg

In fact, isolation is a most important factor in speciation of insular populations (Baker, 1951:55).

From Project Gutenberg