phylogenetic

adjective phy·lo·ge·net·ic \ ˌfī-lō-jə-ˈne-tik \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of phylogenetic

1 : of or relating to phylogeny

2 : based on natural evolutionary relationships

3 : acquired in the course of phylogenetic development : racial

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phylogenetically

play \ˌfī-lō-jə-ˈne-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Recent Examples of phylogenetic from the Web

And according to a phylogenetic tree mapping the evolutionary relationship between the genomes, one of the nine major genotypes circulating today was the product of an ancient recombination between two strains of the hepatitis B virus.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "Genghis Khan’s Mongol horde probably had rampant Hepatitis B," 11 May 2018
The team used the phylogenetic trees to estimate how long ago each branch of the tree split off from the others.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "Polynesians may not have gone grocery shopping in South America," 12 Apr. 2018
Based on a 1980 book by biologists Niles Eldredge and Joel Cracraft, under the definition of a phylogenetic species, animal species now can differ by just 2 percent of their DNA to be considered separate.

— ben panko, Smithsonian, "What Does It Mean to Be a Species? Genetics Is Changing the Answer," 19 May 2017
Collins points out that medievalists studying copying errors in manuscripts have long used the same phylogenetic programs that evolutionary biologists use to study how DNA mutations appear over time.

— sarah zhang, The Atlantic, "Sampling DNA From a 1,000-Year-Old Illuminated Manuscript," 8 Aug. 2017
The team combined the new fossil evidence with previously collected genetic data from living birds to update the phylogenetic tree of bird evolution.

— carolyn gramling, Science | AAAS, "Tiny fossil reveals what happened to birds after dinosaurs went extinct," 10 July 2017
Any phylogenetic tree is a hypothesis, subject to testing and change with additional analysis and discovery.

— brian switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "Shaking the Dinosaur Family Tree," 15 May 2017
Using these phylogenetic principles, some researchers have dated many common words as far back as 9000 years ago.

— elizabeth norton, WIRED, "English May Have Retained Words From an Ice Age Language," 7 May 2013
But the HST sample was also surprisingly distinct from that of other Neandertals, allowing researchers to build a phylogenetic tree and study how Neandertal mtDNA evolved over time.

— ann gibbons, Science | AAAS, "Neandertals and modern humans started mating early," 4 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phylogenetic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.