A derived or specialized characteristic in an organism that differs from the ancestral form, used in evolutionary biology to trace evolutionary relationships.
From Greek apo- 'away from' + morphe 'form' + -ia suffix. Coined in the 20th century to describe evolutionary derived traits as opposed to primitive or ancestral traits.
Apomorphia is the fancy term for 'newfangled features'—like how humans lost our tails or how whales developed blowholes—these are evolutionary upgrades that separate descendants from their ancestors.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.