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“plesiomorphy”
plesiomorphy
An ancestral or primitive character.
An evolutionary trait that is homologous within a particular group of organisms but is not unique to members of that group and therefore cannot be used as a diagnostic or defining character for the group.
For example, vertebrae are found in zebras, cheetahs, and orangutans; but the common ancestor in which this trait first evolved is so distant that the trait is shared by many other animals. As a result, possession of vertebrae sheds no light on the phylogenetic relations of these three species.
This entry is located in the following units:
morpho-, morph-, -morphous, -morphically, -morphia, -morphosis, -morphously, -morphy, -morphic, -morphism
(page 18)
plesio-, plesi-
(page 1)