synapomorphy

English

Etymology

syn- +‎ apomorphy

Noun

synapomorphy (plural synapomorphies)

  1. (cladistics) A derived trait that is shared by two or more taxa of shared ancestry.
    Coordinate term: symplesiomorphy
    • 2003, Eric Buffetaut, Jean-Michel Mazin, Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs‎, page 117:
      Another supposed synapomorphy of Rhamporhynchidae + Pterodactyloidea presented by Unwin (1995) is the subequal length of metacarpals I–III. In all non-pterodactyloid specimens where this region is known metacarpals I–III are about the same length. Therefore this feature cannot be used as a synapomorphy of Rhamporhynchidae + Pterodactyloidea.
    • 2022, Pablo A. Goloboff, From Observations to Optimal Phylogenetic Trees: Phylogenetic Analysis of Morphological Data, Vol. 1‎:
      A “synapomorphy” for a group then amounts to a state change in a character along the corresponding branch; some synapomorphies may be ambiguous when optimization is ambiguous and multiple MPRs exist.

Antonyms
  • (antonym(s) of “derived trait that is shared”): plesiomorphy

Derived terms

See also
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