vicariant
/vaɪˈkɛriənt/
adjective
- Relating to or resulting from vicariance; describing a species or population that has been separated by a geographic barrier.
- The vicariant distribution of these frogs suggests they were once connected by land.
- Vicariant events like the formation of a new river can split a single species into two.
- The vicariant populations of the lizard evolved differently on each side of the mountain range.
noun
- A species or population that has been separated from a related group by a geographic barrier.
- The two vicariants of the same butterfly species now look very different.
- Each vicariant on the island chain adapted to its own environment.
- Researchers compared the DNA of vicariants to estimate when the barrier formed.