Definition of "polyphyletic" []

• Relating to or characterized by development from more than one ancestral type. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It is called polyphyletic evolution, which means that God created numerous stocks, or beginnings of both plant and animal life, which were subject to change and growth, deterioration and development, according to his plan and purpose."
• "In a striking parallel, Lupas et al. have proposed that modern protein folds evolved by recombination of ancient peptide modules, such that the folds have independent and polyphyletic origins although they all ultimately derive from the same recombining pool of genetic elements encoding primordial peptides."
• "Zach: Warm-bloodedness is polyphyletic and is found in two broad classes, mammals (modified in bats) and aves."