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Glite Dictionary
phyletic

phyletic

9.9
Relating to how a group of animals or plants changes and splits into new forms over time
  • adjective
  • /faɪˈlɛtɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : filético
  • The phyletic relationships among various species reveal the complex paths of their evolutionary history.
  • phyletic diversity

Examples

  • Low phyletic diversity.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Phyletic gradualism is the most credible of all the above hypotheses or theories when addressing small-scale genetic changes.

    Blog text (12)

  • Lake Tanganyika's great age and complex history probably explain the high phyletic diversity, which in turn provided the broad morphological substratum from which the lake's high form and reproductive diversity are derived.

    Academic text (1992)

  • I fail to see where biological transmutation is any more far-fetched than panspermia, punctuated equilibrium (cladogenesis), or phyletic gradualism (anagenesis), etc.

    Blog text (12)

  • Researchers study phyletic evolution to understand how species have transformed over millions of years.

  • In biology, phyletic changes can help explain how diverse forms of life arise from common ancestors.

Synonyms

evolutionary
vsphyletic
  • Specialized
177 4.6

About slow change over a long time, often in living things

focuses on diversification within a species rather than broad biological change
phylogenetic
vsphyletic
  • Specialized
3 9.9

About how kinds of animals and plants change and are related over time

stresses branching diversification within a species rather than ancestral relationships
anamorphic
vsphyletic
  • Specialized
9.9

Showing slow change from one form to another over many generations

concerns branching diversification within a species rather than transformation into another type

Surface Forms

phyletic positive

Morphology

phyletic = phyl + ic

The element 'phyl-' is a specialized Greek combining form (not a standalone English word) and, although '-ic' means 'relating to', the overall meaning is technical and not derivable by an average B1 learner from its parts.

Etymology

Phyletic comes from the Greek root phyle, meaning 'tribe' or 'race', and you can think of it like the English word 'family' for a group of living things. So phyletic describes a species' family line and how groups are related and change over time.