Biodiversity: the many different types of organisms that exist.
Cladogram: a branching diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms.
Common ancestor: an ancestor shared by two or more organisms.
Darwin, Charles: a naturalist and one of the "founding fathers" of evolutionary thought.
Divergence: the splitting of one species into two or more species.
Evolution: biological change (descent with modification) through time.
Evolutionary relationships: how organisms are related to one another through common ancestry.
Fossils: the remains or traces of ancient life.
Galápagos Islands: a group of 16 volcanic islands and many additional smaller islets off the coast of Ecuador, near the equator.
Genetic mutation: permanent change in a cell's DNA.
Geographic isolation: the separation between populations caused by geographic distance or geographic barriers.
Geologic time: the long periods of Earth's history.
Natural selection: a natural process resulting in the survival and reproductive success of organisms best adapted to their environments.
Paleontologist: a person who studies fossils to learn about past life.
Speciation: splitting of one species into two or more new species.
Taxon: a group of closely related organisms.
