Everything About ___
Live briefing

Everything about Macroevolution

Evolution on a scale at or above the level of species

Macroevolution comprises the evolutionary processes and patterns which occur at and above the species level. In contrast, microevolution is evolution occurring within the population(s) of a single species. In other words, microevolution is the scale of evolution that is limited to intraspecific (within-species) variation, while macroevolution extends to interspecific (between-species) variation. The evolution of new species (speciation) is an example of macroevolution. This is the common definition for 'macroevolution' used by contemporary scientists. However, the exact usage of the term has varied throughout history. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: MacroevolutionA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: Conceptual and empirical bridges between micro- and macroevolutionInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: Macroevolutionary Theory on Macroecological PatternsThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: Macroevolution and the biological diversity of plants and herbivoresCited 595 times
  5. Go sideways: MicroevolutionA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: EvolutionA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

Noun Large-scale patterns or processes in the history of life, including the origins of novel organism designs, evolutionary trends, adaptive radiations and extinctions.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Origin and changing meaning of the term
  2. Microevolution vs Macroevolution
  3. Macroevolutionary processes
  4. Examples
  5. Research topics

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics