Speciation

'''Speciation''' is the [[Evolution|evolutionary]] process by which new distinct species arise in [[Evolutionary System|evolutionary systems]]. A species is a reproductively isolated, independent evolutionary unit which occupies a certain [[Niche|niche]]. The biologist Orator F. Cook seems to have been the first to coin the term 'speciation' for the splitting of lineages or 'cladogenesis,' as opposed to 'anagenesis' or 'phyletic evolution' occurring within lineages. In the course of [[Evolution|evolution]], a lineage of a species can split into two or more. The branching or [[Bifurcation|bifurcation]] points in the [[Phylogenetic Tree|phylogenetic tree]] mark the speciation events, where a new species emerges. A main reason for speciation in biology is geographical and reproductive isolation.