| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Walther's Law | the vertical succession of facies reflects lateral changes in environment |
| Linnean Hierarchy | Domain-kingdom-phylum-class-order-family-genus-species |
| Darwins mechanisms | 1) Natural populations vary, 2) Variation is heritable, 3) Resources are limited, 4) over-production of offspring |
| Clade | a group of species that includes an ancestor AND all of it's descendants (monophyletic group) |
| Paraphyletic Group | a group of species that share a MOST-RECENT common ancestor BUT does NOT include ALL of that ancestor's descendants |
| Polyphyletic Group | a group of species that does not include the most recent common ancestor |
| Sister Group | the most closely related group to the ingroup |
| Out-group | anything not considered part of the ingroup |
| In-group | the group under study |
| Synapomorphy | a derived character state that unites all members of a clade but EXCLUDES all other taxa |
| Symplesiomorphy | a character state that unites a clade but does NOT distinguish it from other clades |
| Autapomorphy | a character state that uniquely indentifies ONE species but not inherited from the most recent common ancestor |
| Homoplasy | a similar character state shared by two taxa but not inherited from the most recent common ancestor |
| Reversal | a return in a lineage from a derived state back to the ancestral state |
Combine with other sets
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