holophyletic, a. Taxon.
Brit. /ˌhɒləʊfʌɪˈlɛtɪk/, U.S. /ˈˌhɑloʊˌfaɪˈlɛdɪk/
[‹ holo- comb. form + phyletic adj. Compare earlier monophyletic adj., paraphyletic adj.]
Of a group or taxon: including all and only the descendants of a common ancestor or ancestral group; monophyletic (in the narrower sense). Cf. paraphyletic adj.
| 1971P. D. Ashlock in Systematic Zool. 20 67 The criterion for monophyly proposed here sounds similar to Hennig's principle, which can be stated as follows: only synapomorphous characters delimit monophyletic (herein called holophyletic) groups. 1989 Nature 26 Jan. 382/1 All the currently available data indicate that cyanobacteria, prochlorophytes, and chloroplasts constitute a ‘holophyletic’ group. 1996 Evolution 50 2/2, I follow Ashlock in referring to..a monophyletic group as either holophyletic or paraphyletic. |