A paraspecies (a
paraphyletic species) is a
species, living or fossil, that gave rise to one or more daughter species without itself becoming
extinct.[1] Geographically widespread species that have given rise to one or more daughter species as peripheral isolates without themselves becoming extinct (i.e. through
peripatric speciation) are examples of paraspecies.[2]
Paraspecies are expected from evolutionary theory (Crisp and Chandler, 1996), and are empirical realities in many terrestrial and aquatic taxa.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Examples
A well-documented example of a living mammal species that gave rise to another living species is the evolution of the
polar bear from the
brown bear.[13][14]
^Ackery, P. R., and R. I. Vane-Wright. 1984. Milkweed Butterflies: Their Cladistics and Biology. Cornell University Press, Ithaca. 425 pp.
^Patton, J. L., and M. F. Smith. 1989. Population structure and the genetic and morphologic divergence among pocket gopher species (Genus Thomomys). Pp. 284-304 in: Speciation and its Consequences (D. Otte and J. A. Endler, eds.). Sinauer Associates, Sunderland.
^Bell, M. A., and S. A. Foster. 1994. The Evolutionary Biology of the Threespine Stickleback. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
^Funk, D. J.; Omland, K. E. (2003). "Species-level paraphyly and polyphyly: Frequency, causes, and consequences, with insights from animal mitochondrial DNA". Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 34: 397–423.
doi:
10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132421.
^Albert, J. S.; Crampton, W. G. R.; Thorsen, D. H.; Lovejoy, N. R. (April 2005). "Phylogenetic systematics and historical biogeography of the Neotropical electric fish Gymnotus (Teleostei: Gymnotidae)". Systematics and Biodiversity. 2 (4): 375–417.
doi:
10.1017/s1477200004001574.
S2CID86550943.
^Turner, T. F.; McPhee, M. V.; Campbell, P.; Winemiller, K. O. (2004). "Phylogeography and intraspecific genetic variation of prochilodontid fishes endemic to rivers of northern South America". Journal of Fish Biology. 64: 186–201.
doi:
10.1111/j.1095-8649.2004.00299.x.