apomorphous, a. Taxon.
Brit. /ˌapəˈmɔːfəs/, U.S. /ˌæpəˈmɔrfəs/
[‹ apo- prefix + -morphous comb. form, after German apomorph (see apomorphic adj.). Compare slightly earlier apomorphic adj.]
= apomorphic adj.
| 1966 D. D. Davis & R. Zangerl tr. W. Hennig Phylogenetic Systematics ii. 89 We will call the characters or character conditions from which transformation started..in a monophyletic group plesiomorphous, and the derived conditions..apomorphous. 1980 Nature 20 Mar. 285/2 Only derived (apomorphous) characters developed at some later stage and retained in certain descendants can be used as indicators of phylogenetic relationships within the group. 2001 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98 188/1 We here identify in three proteins unique combinations of apomorphopus amino acid replacements that support this clade. |