Describing a group that includes species from different evolutionary lineages that do not share a recent common ancestor. These artificial groups are based on convergent evolution rather than true relationship.
From Greek 'polys' meaning 'many' and 'phylon' meaning 'tribe or race'. Introduced by Willi Hennig in the 1950s to describe groups that appear related due to similar characteristics but actually evolved those traits independently in separate lineages.
Polyphyletic groups are evolution's greatest deceivers - like grouping bats and birds together as 'flying vertebrates' when bats are actually more closely related to horses than to birds! These groups fool us because convergent evolution makes unrelated species look similar when they face similar challenges.
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