evolutionary systematics
nounA way scientists group living things by looking at how they are related through evolution.
Using evolutionary systematics, the scientists placed the new bird species near its closest relatives.
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OTHER MEANINGS
2. A school of biological classification that builds groups based on both ancestry and the amount of evolutionary change.
Evolutionary systematics allows a group to include descendants that have changed a lot from their ancestors.
3. The branch of biology that studies the evolutionary relationships among organisms to organize them into groups.
She studied evolutionary systematics to understand how mammals diversified.
4. A method of arranging species into hierarchies that reflect their shared evolutionary history.
The museum's collection was reorganized according to evolutionary systematics.