apomorphic, a. Taxon.
Brit. /ˌapəˈmɔːfik/, U.S. /ˌæpəˈmɔrfɪk/
[‹ apo- prefix + -morphic comb. form, after German apomorph (W. Hennig Grundzüge einer Theorie der phylogenetischen Systematik (1950) ii. 142). Compare slightly later apomorphous adj.]
Designating or relating to a novel derived character which distinguishes the organisms or taxa that possess it from others descended from the same ancestor.
| 1959 Systematic Zool. 8 117 Characters [according to Hennig] are either plesiomorphic (= primitive, generalized, conservative, and so on), or are apomorphic (= derived, specialized, progressive, and so on). 1988 Zool. Jrnl. Linn. Soc. 92 376 The diaphragm in the penis is a derived or apomorphic feature for the subgenus Dugesia. 2004 W. H. Kimbel et al. Skull Australopithecus Afarensis v. 167 (caption) The plesiomorphic end of the morphocline is at lower left (represented by the chimpanzee) and the apomorphic end is at upper right (represented by A. boisei). |