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| The similarity of structure between two species that are not closely related, attributable to convergent evolution. |
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| A two-part latinized name of a species; for example, Homo sapiens. |
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| In classification, the taxonomic category above order. |
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| The study of evolutionary history; specifically, the scientific search for clades, taxonomic groups composed of an ancestral species and all its descendants. |
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| A taxonomic category above the kingdom level. The three (word) of life are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. |
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| In classification, the taxonomic category above genus. |
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| In classification, the taxonomic category above species; the first part of a species' binomial; for example, Homo. |
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| A time scale established by geoligists that reflects a consistent sequence of geologic periods, grouped into four divisions; Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. |
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| In classification the taxonomic category above class and below kingdom. members of these all have a similar general body plan. |
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| A method for determining the age of fossils and rocks from the ratio of radioactive isotope to the nonradioactive isotope(s) of the same element in the sample. |
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| A group of populations whose members possess similar anatomical characteristics and have the ability to interbreed. |
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| A discipline of biology that focuses on classifying organisms and determining their evolutionary relationships. |
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| The branch of biology concerned with identifying, naming, and classifying species. |
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| The study of the geographic distribution of species. |
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| Anatomical similarity due to common ancestry. |
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| An interspecific interaction in which both partners benefit. |
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| In a seed plant, the male gametophyte that develops within the anther of a stamen. It houses cells that will develop into sperm. |
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| The portion of a plant's vascular system that conveys sugars, nutrients, and hormones throughout a plant. It is made up of live food-conducting cells. |
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| The underground organ of a plant. Roots anchor the plant in the soil, absorb and transport minerals and water, and store food. |
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| A modified leaf of a flowering plant. A whorl of sepals encloses and protects the flower bud before it opens. |
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| The multicellular diploid form in the life cycle of organisms undergoing alternation of generations; results form a union of gametes and meiotically produces haploid spores that grow into the gametophyte generation. |
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| A pollen-producing part of a flower, consisting of a stalk (filament) and an anther. |
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| The sticky tip of a flower's carpel that traps pollen grains. |
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| The portion of a plant's vascular system that provides support and conveys water and inorganic nutrients from the roots to the rest of the plant. xylem consists mainly of vessel elements and/or tracheids, water conducting cells. |
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| A shelled egg in which an embryo develops within a fluid-filled amniotic sac and is nourished by yolk. Produced by reptiles (including birds) and egg-laying mammals, it enables them to complete their life cycles on dry land. |
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| A segmented worm. These include earthworms, polychaetes, and leeches. |
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| A member of a major arthropod group that includes spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites. |
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| A member of a primate group made up of the apes (gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos), monkeys, and humans. |
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| An arrangement of body parts such that an organism can be divided equally by a single cut passing longitudinally through it. A bilaterally symmetrical organism has mirror-image right and left sides. |
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| An animal that at some point during its development has a dorsal, hollow nerve cord, a notochord, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail. These include lancelets, tunicates, and vertebrates. |
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| An animal characterized by cnidocytes, radial symmetry, a gastrovascular cavity, and a polyp or medusa body form. These include hydras, jellies, sea anemones, and corals. |
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| Members of a group of slow-moving or sessile marine animals characterized by a rough or spiny skin, a water vascular system, typically an endoskeleton, and radial symmetry in adults. These include sea stars, sea urchins, and sand dollars. |
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| Members of a class of endothermic amniotes that possesses mammary glands and hair. |
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| An animal characterized by a pseudocoelom, a cylindrical, wormlike body form, and a complete digestive tract; also called a roundworm. |
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| An arrangement of the body parts of an organism like pieces of a pie around an imaginary central axis. Any slice passing longitudinally through a radially symmetrical organism's central axis divides into mirror-image halves. |
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| Members of the clade of amniotes that include snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodile, alligators, birds, and a number of extinct groups (most of the dinosaurs). |
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| A chordate animal with a backbone. these include lampreys, cartilaginous fishes, bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles (including birds), and mammals. |
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