This is a list of Speculative Evolution related words, as compiled by Ddraig Goch and Ammonite of SE.
Evolution - the theory that the various existing lifeforms are derived from preexisting types through natural selection
DNA - abbr deoxyribonucleic acid, which occurs in the nucleus of cells, and is the material that makes up genes
Carnivore - an animal that eats other animals in order to survive
Herbivore - an animal that eats plants in order to survive
Omnivore - an animal that eats both plants and animals in order to survive
Piscivore - a carnivore that eats specifically fish in order to survive
Detrivore - an animal that eats dead plant or animal matter in order to survive
Insectivore - a carnivore that feeds specifically on insects in order to survive
Frugivore - a herbivore that feeds mainly on fruit in order to survive
Xylophagous - an animal that eats wood and plant matter in order to survive
Primary Consumer - see herbivore
Tertiary Consumer - see carnivore
Primary/ Tertiary Consumer - see omnivore
Browser - a herbivore that feeds on the leaves of trees or shrubs
Grazer - a herbivore that feeds on grasses
Carrion - the remains of a dead animal
Biota - the lifeforms within a specific time or place, eg. the biota of the Jurassic Period
Environment - the local surroundings
Habitat - the place, or type of place, where a lifeform naturally grows or lives
Population - a group of individuals of the same species, that live in one area and interbreed
Predator - a lifeform that lives by hunting, killing, and eating other lifeforms
Prey - a lifeform that is hunted by a predator
Apex Predator - the top predator in an environment, that is not preyed upon by any other creature
Biome - a region of distinct lifeforms, such as the rainforests or oceans
Ecosystem - a collection of different species living in the same habitat
Migration - when a species travels to a new location or habitat
Circular Migration - when a species migrates to a new location for part of the year, before returning to its original habitat
Partial Migration - within a species, when one population migrates, but another doesn't
Epiphyte - a plant that grows on another plant as structural support, such as a bromeliad. They are not parasetic.
Zooplantae - lifeforms that exibit characteristics of both plants and animals - colloquially known as planimals
Xenobiology - the study of alien lifeforms. Also known as exobiology
Xenobotany - the study of alien plants
Bauplan - the bodily design of a lifeforms, eg number of legs
Endothermic - able to maitain a constant body temperature regardless of external conditions
Exothermic - having a body temperature that depends on the environment
Gene - a section of a DNA molecule, which determines the physical characteristics of a lifeform
Genotype - the gene types specific to a lifeform
Phenotype - the physical atributes the genotype produces
Aerial - a lifeform that spends most of its life in the air
Arboreal - a lifeform that spends most of its' life in the trees
Terrestrial - a lifeform that spends its life on the ground
Aquatic - a lifeform that spends its life in a liquid environment
Asexual Reproduction - a form of reproduction that involves just one parent
Sexual Reproduction - a form of reproduction that involves two or more parents
Parthenogenesis - a form of reproduction in which an egg develops into a fetus without having to be fertilized
Convergent Evolution - when two unrelated species evolve similar adaptations, due to similar environmental pressures
Bilateral Symmetry - a form of symmetry in which the body consists of two equal halves, on either side of a midline
Radial Symmetry - a form of symmetry in which the body is shaped like a wheel, often with the mouth at the centre
Bipedal - moving on two legs, or having just two limbs
Quadropedal - moving on four legs, or having just four limbs
Hexopedal - moving on six legs, or having just six limbs
Plantigrade - a creature that moves about on the soles of its feet
Digitigrade - a creature that moves about on its toes
Unguligrade - a creature that moves around on hooves
Parasite - a lifeform that lives on or inside another, and feeds either on the host, or on the food that the host has swallowed
Hyperparasite - a parasite that attacks another parasite
Parasitoid - a lifeform that is parasetic for its infancy, but becomes free-living during adulthood
Camouflage - clours or patterns that allow a lifeform to merge with its surroundings
Batesian Mimicry - when an animal looks like a more dangerous animal in order to escape predation
Diurnal - active during the day
Nocturnal - active at night
Crepuscular - active during twilight hours
Vertebrate - an animal with a backbone, or spinal chord
Invertebrate - an animal without a backbone or spinal chord
Colony - a group of animals , belonging to the same species, that live together and divide up their tasks in order to survive
Eusocial - animals, such as termites, that form colonies
Zooid - an individual in a colony
Gestalt - a species whose individuals cannot function on their own, but require other members of their species in order to survive
Symbiosis - a partnership between two members of different species, in which both gain
Neotony - species that, in adulthood, retain the characteristics of their young, such as the axolotl
Atavism - when characteristics from ancestral species appear in modern species, often as a freak mutation
Vestigial - an organ or limb that has atrophied and is now non-functional, eg. the "arms" of Tyrannosaurus Rex
Sapience - often defined as wisdom - a term given to "intelligent" species, eg. Homo Sapiens
Sentience - the ability to sense or percieve ones' surroundings
Respiration - the transport of oxygen around the body
Gaiocentrism - the belief that alien organisms must looks like Terran lifeforms, because "if it hasn't evolved on Earth, it won't evolve elsewhere".
Xenocentrism - the belief that alien organisms must be completely to Terran lifeforms
Extremophile: An organism that requires extreme conditions, like very hot or very cold temperatures, in order to live.
Sclerophyll: A type of vegetation characterized by thick, hard leaves that grow tightly together. They grow in arid conditions.
Paedomorphosis: An evolutionary process by which organisms retain juvenile traits into adulthood.
Neoteny: When the change to adulthood is slowed in such a way that an organism can reproduce before becoming an adult.
Progenesis: When development is halted before the organism is able to reach sexual maturity.
Post-displacement: When physical development into an adult is delayed for whichever reason.
Metamorphosis: The process by which an organism's larval phase develops into n adult phase.
Mimickry: When an organism evolves to look and/or act like another organism in order to gain the same benefits (e.g. avoiding predators).
Endemic: When a species is native to only one region in one specific part of the world.
Symbiosis: The process by which two organisms evolve to depend on each other for survival.
Co-evolution: The process by which two organisms evolve specifically toward living amongst each other.
Photic: The layer of open water that recieves enough sunlight to permit phytoplankton and other plants to grow. The topmost layer of an ocean.
Pelagic: The layer of open water that is bright enough to see in but does not have enough sunlight for plants to grow. The middle or intermediate layer of an ocean.
Abyssal: The layer of open water that becomes too dark to see in and which water pressure becomes a concern. The bottom layer of an ocean.
Benthic: The zone that exists on the bottom or deepest floor of an ocean or lake.
Littoral: The part of an open water environment that is closest to the shore.
Trogloxene: An organism that can frequent a cave or live in it for a short period of time but can not spend its whole live there.
Troglophile: An organism that can live its entire life in a cave but can also live in other places.
Troglobite: An organism that can only live in caves and nowhere else.
Gene locus (pl. loci): The part of an organism's genome that controls a particular trait and allows it to vary through the expression of alleles.
Hybrid: The offspring of two different species.
Backtracking: The process of artificial selection by which a hybrid is bred with one of its parent species.
Phenetics: The practice of grouping species based purely on physiological traits and with no regard to genetic relationships.
Cladistics: The practice of grouping species based on similarity heirarchies.
Clade: A group of organisms or species that are seperated from other organisms or species based on an acquired trait that all of those species share.
Phylogeny: The practice of using genetic closeness to determine how far removed an organism or species is from another organism or species. Does not lump species into groups or place them on exclusivity heirarchies.
Phylum: A group of species that shares a single recent ancestor.
Monophylum: A genetic phylum or species that is seperated from other phyla by aquired traits.
Polyphylum: A group of phyla or species that share similar or identical traits but that are not a genetically exclusive phylum. E.g. Grouping mammals and birds together as endotherms.
Paraphylum: The phyla or species in a larger group that are not characterized by a certain trait. Basically, "everyone else." E.g. All apes that are not exclusively bipedal are members of a paraphylum called "non-human primates."
Basal Group: A group of organisms that are still a part of their ancestral phylum due to not acquiring any new traits.
Crown group: A group of extant species and their most recent common ancestor.
Analogy: Differences in the same trait that are exhibited by closely related species or species with a common ancestor. Compare a whale flipper with a human arm.
Homology: Similarities in the same trait that are exhibited by closely related species or species with a common ancestor. Compare the wings of bats with a human arm.
Homoplasy: Different traits that have become similar to one another through their use for for the same purpose. Also called convergence or convergent evolution.
Plesiomorphy: A trait that is inherited by a species but that was acquired before the last common ancestor of two related species arose. Fur is a plesiomorphy in primates but not in mammals. Also called a primitive trait or characteristic.
Symplesiomorphy: A plesiomorphy that is shared between two species with a last common ancestor.
Apomorphy: A trait that was inherited by a species and that arose in the last common ancestor of two related species. Also called a derived trait or characteristic. Nails are an apomorphy in primates. Also called a derived trait or characteristic.
Synapomorphy: An apomorphy that is shared between two species with a last common ancestor.
Pre-adaptation: A trait that evolved inadvertantly and is used for a certain purpose instead of being adapted for it. A precursor to adaptation.
Exaptation: A trait that had been previously adapted for one purpose but that can - and inadvertantly is - used for an entirely different purpose. E.g. feathers going from an aid in insulation to an aide in flight.
Allopatry: Speciation through geographic isolation.
Sympatry: Speciation alongside a parent population. A population's version of a cell fissioning or splitting in two.
Peripatry: Speciation through population isolation but not geographic isolation.
Parapatry: Speciation within a population, most likely through physiological and/or behavioural differences that arose within the population and was then selected for.
Ring species: A speciation event amongst a bunch of populations where each population is still able to breed with the populations closest to it but becomes unable to breed with those populations that are farther away. Named aptly because the whole population breeding dynamic tends to look like a ring.
RNA-abbr. Ribonucleic acid. Used in organisms to code for proteins sop that they can eb created.
TNA-abbr. threo-nucleic acid. A possible alternative to DNA.
ATP- adenosine triphosphate. Plays a key role in the energetics of a cell.
CHZ- circumstellar habitable zone. The area around a star where liquid water can exist.
EOD- electric organ discharge.
bioluminescence- where organisms produce light.
carbon/nitrogen/etc. cycle- the proicesses through which integral elemnts are recycled in the earth so not wasted.
demersal- living near the sea floor
infauna- animals that live in sediments such as sand or mud.
nekton- animals that can swim freely in the ocean currents.
plankton- animals which float freely in the ocean currents.
osmolarity- the amount of dissolved ions in a liquid.
sporophyte- a plant which produces spores.
zooxanthellae- algae that live symbiotically in the tissues of animals.
protandrous- born male then changing to female
protogynous- born female then changing to male
simultaneous hermaphrodites- animals which are both male and female at the same time.
