Macroevolution

Macroevolution is evolutionary change at or above the species level, including speciation and the long-term origin and diversification of major groups.

Speciation: The formation of distinct species through the divergence of populations. Lineage splitting is the central process that generates species diversity over macroevolutionary timescales.
Population genetics: The study of genetic variation and allele-frequency change within populations. Its models describe the inherited changes that accumulate into macroevolutionary divergence.
Cambrian explosion: A geologically brief interval when many major animal groups first appear abundantly in the fossil record. It is a landmark case of rapid diversification early in animal history.
Microevolution: Evolutionary change in allele frequencies within populations, often across short timescales. The distinction concerns scale; population-level changes can contribute to macroevolutionary patterns.
Fossil record: The preserved remains and traces of past organisms documented in geological strata. Its gaps and uneven sampling affect reconstructions of evolutionary tempo and diversity.
Natural selection: The differential survival and reproduction of organisms due to heritable variation. Selection can shape adaptations that accumulate across populations and lineages.
Mutation: A heritable change in the DNA sequence or structure of an organism. Mutation supplies new genetic variants on which evolutionary processes act.
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event: A mass extinction about 66 million years ago that eliminated non-avian dinosaurs and many other groups. The extinction reshaped ecosystems and opened opportunities for surviving lineages.
Punctuated equilibrium: A model proposing that species often show long periods of relative stability interrupted by geologically brief change. It contrasts with gradualism over how evolutionary change appears in the fossil record.
Phylogenetic comparative methods: Statistical methods that test evolutionary hypotheses while accounting for shared ancestry among species. They help distinguish repeated evolutionary patterns from effects inherited from common ancestors.

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PaleobiologyRelated: The fossil record captures large-scale evolutionary patterns across geological time.