Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Tree of life (biology) The tree of life or universal tree of life is a metaphor, conceptual model, and research tool used to explore the evolution of life and describe the relationships between organisms, both living and extinct, as described in a famous passage in Charles Darwin 's On the Origin of Species (1859). [1]
Surface of an organ facing away from the organ's axis, e.g. the lower surface of a lateral organ such as a leaf or petal. [2] Contrast adaxial. abort. To abandon development of a structure or organ. [3] abscission. Natural shedding of an organ that is mature or aged, as of a ripe fruit or an old leaf.
e. In biology, taxonomy (from Ancient Greek τάξις (taxis) 'arrangement' and -νομία (-nomia) ' method ') is the scientific study of naming, defining (circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given a taxonomic ...
A phylogenetic tree, phylogeny or evolutionary tree is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time. [1][2] In other words, it is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon ...
The major ranks: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species, applied to the red fox, Vulpes vulpes. The hierarchy of biological classification 's eight major taxonomic ranks. Intermediate minor rankings are not shown. In biology, taxonomic rank (which some authors prefer to call nomenclatural rank[1] because ranking is ...
The binomial name often reflects limited knowledge or hearsay about a species at the time it was named. For instance Pan troglodytes, the chimpanzee, and Troglodytes troglodytes, the wren, are not necessarily cave-dwellers. Sometimes a genus name or specific descriptor is simply the Latin or Greek name for the animal (e.g. Canis is Latin for ...
Lineage (evolution) An evolutionary lineage is a temporal series of populations, organisms, cells, or genes connected by a continuous line of descent from ancestor to descendant. [1][2] Lineages are subsets of the evolutionary tree of life. Lineages are often determined by the techniques of molecular systematics.
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...