Cladogenesis
/ˌklædoʊˈdʒɛnəsɪs/noun
Evolutionary change produced when one ancestral lineage splits into two or more distinct descendant lineages.
Did you know?Cladogenesis is the evolutionary counterpart of anagenesis: instead of one lineage changing in place, a lineage splits into separate branches, forming the conceptual basis of branching evolutionary trees.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵenh₁-
“To beget, give birth, or produce; the ancestral root behind the -genesis element.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kládos
“Branch, twig, or shoot; the source of the clado- element.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
génesis
“Origin, creation, birth, or coming into being.”
19th Century
Scientific Greek
clado- + -genesis
“A modern scientific compound meaning branch-origin or origin by branching.”
20th Century
English
cladogenesis
“Evolutionary diversification through the splitting of an ancestral lineage.”
Modern English
English
cladogenesis
“The formation of new evolutionary lineages by branching from an ancestral population.”