| A | B |
|---|
| polyphyletic | pertaining to a grouping of species derived from two oe more different ancestral forms. |
| paraphyletic | pertaining to a grouping of species that consists of an ancestral species and some, but not all, of its descendants. |
| homology | similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry. |
| convergent evolution | phenomenon when two distinct species with differing ancestries evolve to display similar physical features. |
| analogy | similarity between two species that is due to convergent evolution rather than to descent from a common ancestor with the same trait. |
| DNA~DNA hybridization | a molecular biology technique that measures the degree of genetic similarity between pools of DNA sequences. |
| restriction maps | a map of known restriction sites within a sequence of DNA. |
| DNA sequence analysis | the analysis of a sequence of DNA after determining the order of the nucleotide bases in a molecule of DNA. |
| cladistic analysis | the analysis of how species may be grouped into clades |
| clade | a group of species that includes an ancestral species and all its descendants. |
| outgroup | a species or group of species that is closely related to the group of species being studied, but clearly not as closely related as any study-group members are to each other. |
| synapomorphies | a trait that is shared by two or more taxa and their most recent common ancestor, whose ancestor in turn does not produce the trait. |
| parsimony | a non-parametric statistical method commonly used in computational phylogenetics for estimating phylogenies. |
| phylogenetic biology | the history of the evolution of a species or group, especially in reference to lines of descent and relationships among broad groups of organisms. |
| Geological time scale | A system of chronologic measurement relating stratigraphy to time that is used by geologists, paleontologists and other Earth scientists |
| Radiometric dating | A method paleontologists use for determining the ages of rocks and fossils on a scale of absolute time, based on the half-life of radioactive isotopes |
| Half-life | The number of years it takes 50% of a sample of an isotope to decay |
| Pangea | The supercontinent formed near the end of the Paleozoic era when plate movements brought all the land-masses of Earth together |
| Adaptive zone | The relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other |
| Phylogentic trees | A branching diagram that represents a hypothesis about evolutionary relationships |
| Binomial | The two-part latinized name of a species, consisting of genus and specific epithet |
| Genus (genera) | A taxonomic category above the species level, designated by the first word of a species' two-part scientific name |
| Specific epithet | The second part of a binomial, referring to one species within a genus |
| Family | In classification, the taxonomic category above genus |
| Order | In classification, the tazonomic category above family |
| Class | In classification, the taxonomic category above order |
| Phylum (phyla) | In classification, the taxonomic category above class |
| Kingdom | A taxonomic category, the second broadest after domain |
| Taxon (taxa) | The named taxonomic unit at any given level of classification |
| Phylogeny | The evolutionary history of a species or a group of related species |
| Systematics | The analytical study of the diversity and relationships of organisms, both present-day and extinct |
| Fossil Recod | The chronicle of evolution over millions of years of geologic time engraved in the order in which fossils appear in the rock strata |
