1. plural of cladogenesis; the splitting of a lineage into two or more separate evolutionary lines; speciation through the branching of a phylogenetic tree.
Usage: technical; biology; evolutionary biology

Examples

• Cladogeneses in the fossil record show how ancient species diverged into multiple new forms.
• The study of cladogeneses helps scientists understand the branching patterns of the tree of life.
• Multiple cladogeneses occurred during the Cambrian explosion, leading to the rapid diversification of animal phyla.
• Molecular data supports several cladogeneses in the primate lineage over the past 25 million years.