large-scale patterns or processes in the history of life, including the origins of novel organismal designs, evolutionary trends, adaptive radiations and extinctions
Evolution above the species level; the evolution of higher taxa and the processes that result from differences in species survivorship or rates of speciation
A term introduced by Theodosius Dobzhansky in 1937, referring to evolution at levels higher than the populational His view was that evolutionary change at the level of speciation and above Recently, the term has been used simply to refer to large scale change, mostly at the superspecies level, eg, by Niles Eldredge
A term introduced by Richard Goldschmidt, a non-Darwinian evolutionist, in 1940, referring to evolution at levels higher than the populational His view, not original to him, was that evolutionary change at the level of speciation and above, could not occur through natural selection or drift Recently, the term has been used simply to refer to large scale change, mostly at the superspecies level, eg, by Niles Eldredge
Evolution at or above the species level, i e , of species or clades See Punctuated Equilibrium