monophyletic

[ mon-oh-fahy-let-ik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

monophyletic

/ ˌmɒnəʊfaɪˈlɛtɪk /

relating to or characterized by descent from a single ancestral group of animals or plants
(of animals or plants) of or belonging to a single stock

monophyletic

/ mŏn′ō-fī-lĕt′ĭk /

Relating to a taxonomic group that contains all the descendants of a single common ancestor. All clades , such as birds and placental mammals, are monophyletic.
Compare paraphyletic

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mon·o·phy·le·tism [mon-, uh, -, fahy, -li-tiz-, uh, m, -, fil, -i-], mono·phyle·ty noun

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First recorded in 1870–75; mono- + phyletic

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The problem of the monophyletic or polyphyletic origin of the human race has also been much discussed.

It is generally believed that the Arthropoda constitute a natural, monophyletic group.

Columbids are almost unquestionably monophyletic, and two lines would have had to diverge and then converge.

But it is very difficult (and at present impossible) to explain a natural monophyletic system of this large legion.

All the Catarrhin, or Eastern Simi, form one natural monophyletic group.

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