Polyphyly

Polyphyly is a term used in biology to describe a group of organisms that do not share a recent common ancestor. This means that the members of a polyphyletic group have different evolutionary origins. For example, if we group together birds and bats based on their ability to fly, this group would be polyphyletic because birds are more closely related to reptiles, while bats are more closely related to mammals. Polyphyly highlights how some traits can arise independently in different lineages rather than from a shared ancestor, reflecting the complexity of evolutionary relationships.