sympatric speciation
sympatric speciation The development of new taxa from the ancestral taxon, within the same geographic range (it is geographically possible for interbreeding to occur between the potential new taxa, but for some reason this does not happen). Because of the difficulty of envisaging what the reasons might be, few authorities until recently accepted the reality of sympatric evolution, except for certain special kinds of organisms; but recent studies have shown that chromosomal mutation and behavioural differences (e.g. in birdsong) can set up a partial barrier to interbreeding, sufficient to permit sympatric (stasipatric) speciation; and the restricted interbreeding between ecological races of a species could promote separation. Centrifugal speciation appears to be so common in some groups of animals (e.g. mammals) that some sympatric mechanism must be occurring. Compare allopatric speciation.
More From encyclopedia.com
sympatric evolution , sympatric evolution The development of new taxa from the ancestral taxon, within the same geographic range (i.e. it is geographically possible for in… bradytely , bradytely An exceedingly slow rate of evolution, manifest by slowly evolving lineages which survive much longer than would normally be expected. Livi… Althaea , Althaea (marsh mallow, hollyhock, etc.; family Malvaceae) A genus of herbs that have showy, regular, 5-petalled flowers and an epicalyx of 6–9 segmen… Cichlid , Cichlidae (cichlids; subclass Actinopterygii, order Perciformes) A very large family of freshwater fish, many of which are rather deep-bodied. They h… Psilophytales , Skip to main content
Psilophytales
Psilophytales (psilophytes) Primitive pteridophytes, which were the earliest vascular plants, from the Silurian an… heterodont , heterodont
1. (invertebrate) Applied to a hinge dentition occurring in the Bivalvia, where teeth of differing sizes occur in the hinge plate. The tee…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
sympatric speciation