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What is macroevolution?
Macroevolution generally refers to evolution above the species
level. So instead of focusing on an individual beetle species, a
macroevolutionary lens might require that we zoom out on the tree of
life, to assess the diversity of the entire beetle clade and its
position on the tree.
Macroevolution refers to evolution of groups
larger than an individual species. |
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The history of life, on a grand
scale. | Macroevolution encompasses the
grandest trends and transformations in evolution, such as the origin
of mammals and the radiation of flowering plants. Macroevolutionary
patterns are generally what we see when we look at the large-scale
history of life.
It is not necessarily easy to "see" macroevolutionary history;
there are no firsthand accounts to be read. Instead, we reconstruct
the history of life using multiple lines of evidence, including
geology, fossils, and living
organisms. |
