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apomorphy

/ˌæpəˈmɔːrfi/

A newly evolved trait used in phylogenetic classification

From Greek apo- (away from).

noun
apo-
Ancient Greek
ἀπό (apó)
Away from, off, or separate from; the prefix used in scientific compounds
Scientific Greek/Latinized combining form
apo-
Expresses separation, derivation, or movement away from
-morphy
Ancient Greek
μορφή (morphḗ)
Form, shape, or structural appearance
Greek-derived scientific combining form
-morphy
A form or character, especially a biological structural feature
Combined
apo- + -morphy → apomorphy
Literally, a form that has arisen away from an ancestral form
Modern biological English
apomorphy
A novel character or character state evolved from an ancestral condition
Modern phylogenetics
apomorphy
A derived trait; a synapomorphy is one shared by multiple taxa
Modern English
apomorphy
“

A biologist looking at a family tree of organisms is really asking a visual question: which features are old furniture, and which are new additions? The first half, Greek apó, means “away from,” while morphḗ means “form”—so an apomorphy is, in effect, a form that has wandered away from the ancestral design. The same morphḗ sits inside morphology and metamorphosis, words concerned with shape changing or being catalogued; apó also appears in apoptosis, the wonderfully tidy scientific name for a cell dropping away from the body like a leaf. In modern phylogenetics, a newly evolved feature becomes especially useful when it is shared: a shared apomorphy, or synapomorphy, can point researchers toward a common ancestor. The memorable image is a family portrait: an apomorphy is the conspicuous new hat that appeared somewhere down the lineage, while a synapomorphy is the same hat worn by several related descendants.

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