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macroevolution

macroevolution

1 9.3
Large changes in living things over millions of years that make new groups such as mammals
  • noun
  • /ˌmækroʊˈɛvəluːʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : macroevolución
  • Presentations in the symposium provided current information about macro-evolutionary processes, the distinctions between and the interactions of micro- and macroevolution, the development and evolution of "key innovations" and major lineages of organisms, and the evidence for these processes.

Examples

  • Comparative studies of interspecific variation, such as the examples just mentioned, have long played a central role in the study of adaptation and the examination of evolutionary constraints and patterns of macroevolution.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Indeed, I can't find anything in this article that I can disagree with, given our current understanding of genomics and macroevolution.

    Blog text (30)
  • Thus, the distinction between micro- and macroevolution is not a fundamental one; the only difference between them is of time and scale.

    Blog text (3)
  • The symposium, titled "Macroevolution: Evolution above the Species Level," drew over 200 high school and college faculty members.

    Academic text (2006)
  • I think that here, Coyne is tacitly conceding the existence of a huge body of paleontological data demonstrating the reality of macroevolution without actually saying anything about macroevolution.

    Blog text (8)
  • "It is at the level of macroevolution—of large jumps—that the theory evokes skepticism.

    Blog text (14)
  • This knowledge will allow us to study anole adaptive radiation synthetically, uniting investigations of genomics with those of community ecology, behavior, and macroevolution.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Fossils collected in the last decade document the ways in which cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) became aquatic, a transition that is one of the best documented examples of macroevolution in mammals.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Change on that scale is known as macroevolution.

  • Everything I was taught about macroevolution forty years ago has been proven wrong.

Synonyms

evolution
vsmacroevolution
  • Specialized
377 4.4

Gradual change in living things over many generations caused by nature

limits this idea to very large geological time changes that create higher level groups
phylogeny
vsmacroevolution
  • Specialized
2 9.9

The history of how a group of living things changes over a long time

focuses on large scale change forming new taxonomic groups above the species level
phylogenesis
vsmacroevolution
  • Specialized
9.9

The way a group of living things changes over a long time to form new species

focuses on large scale change forming groups above the species level over geological time

How Large

macroevolution
  • Specialized
1 9.3
microevolution
  • Specialized
1 7.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

macroevolution = evolution (semi-transparent) = macro + evolve + tion

The prefix 'macro-' clearly contributes the idea of large scale, but the full term is a specialized scientific expression rather than a fully everyday combination.

Etymology

The word macroevolution combines macro- meaning 'large' and evolution, the same root as the verb evolve which comes from a word meaning 'to unfold' or 'change over time'. So, macroevolution means big, long-term changes that create new major groups of living things over millions of years.