adjective
- relating to or denoting a group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all of its descendants
Usage: biology; taxonomy
Examples
- Birds form a monophyletic group descended from dinosaurs.
- The researcher argued that mammals constitute a monophyletic clade.
- Scientists use DNA analysis to determine if a group is truly monophyletic.
- The classification system was revised to include only monophyletic taxa.
- A monophyletic group must contain all descendants of a common ancestor.
- The phylogenetic tree showed that reptiles are not monophyletic as traditionally defined.