phylogeny
/faɪˈlɑdʒəni/
noun
- The evolutionary history and development of a species or group of organisms, often shown as a family tree.
- The phylogeny of flowering plants shows how different families evolved over millions of years.
- Modern DNA analysis has helped clarify the phylogeny of many animal groups.
- Students in biology class learned to read a phylogeny to understand how species are related.