BioConcepts

characternota (lat.); Merkmal (ger.)

• A distinctive mark, feature, trait, or characteristic, esp. one of the distinguishing features of a species or genus.
  category form

  1682

  Summorum Herbarum generum Notæ Characteristicæ

  Ray, J. (1682). Methodus plantarum nova: [Praefatio].

  1737

  Nomen specificum nil aliud erit, quam nota, qua distinguam species a congeneribus; ergo ubi unica species, nulla distinctio, adeoque nulla differentia.

  Linné, C. von (1737). Critica botanica: 215 (§293).
  

  1751

  Nota characteristica […] omnis erui debet a Numero, Figura, Proportione & Situ omnium partium Fructificationis […] differentium

  Linné, C. von (1751). Philosophia botanica: 116 (§167); cf. id. (1737). Critica botanica: 202 (§283); cf. Müller-Wille, S. (1999). Botanik und weltweiter Handel. Zur Begründung eines Natürlichen Systems der Pflanzen durch Carl von Linné (1707-78): 224.

  1859

  natural selection […] results from the struggle for existence, and […] almost inevitably induces extinction and divergence of character in the many descendants from one dominant parent-species

  Darwin, C. (1859). On the Origin of Species: 433; cf. Mayr, E. (1992). Darwin’s principle of divergence. J. Hist. Biol. 25, 343-59.

  1866

  Jedes von den 7 hybriden Merkmalen gleicht dem einen der beiden Stammmerkmale entweder so vollkommen, daß das andere der Beobachtung entschwindet oder ist demselben so ähnlich, daß eine sichere Unterscheidung nicht stattfinden kann. […] In der weiteren Besprechung werden jene Merkmale, welche ganz oder fast unverändert in die hybride Verbindung übergehen, somit selbst die hybriden Merkmale repräsentieren, als dominirende, und jene, welche in der Verbindung latent werden, als rezessive bezeichnet.

  Mendel, G. (1866). Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden. Verhandlungen des Naturforschenden Vereines Brünn 4, 3-47: 10-1.

  1902

  Each such character, which is capable of being dissociated or replaced by its contrary, must henceforth be conceived of as a distinct unit-character; and as we know that the several unit-characters are of such a nature that any of them is capable of independently displacing or being displaced by one or more alternative characters taken singly, we may recognize this fact by naming such unit-characters allelomorphs.

  Bateson, W. (1902). Mendel’s Principes of Heredity: 22. 

  1958

  single character [...] is anything that can be considered as a variable independent of any other thing considered at the same time

  Cain, A.J. & Harrison, G.A. (1958). An analysis of the taxonomist’s judgement of affinity. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 131, 85-98: 89; cf. Hennig, W. (1984). Aufgaben und Probleme stammesgeschichtlicher Forschung; Ax, P. (1984). Das phylogenetische System: 115.

  1970

  [Ein] Merk-Mal [ist] ein Mal oder Zeichen, das man 1. bemerkt, 2. sich merkt und auf das man 3. auch andere aufmerksam macht, mit anderen Worten eine Einheit, die man beobachtet, festlegt und mitteilt. [...] das Merkmal ist eine gesondert erfaßbare, abgrenzbare Eigentümlichkeit oder Eigenschaft, die ihren Träger kennzeichnet, die ihn zu beschreiben erlaubt. Ein Gebilde beschreiben heißt, seine Merkmale aufzählen. Durch Merkmale sind nicht nur konkrete Objekte, sondern auch zusammenfassende Gruppen solcher Objekte gekennzeichnet, so vor allem die Sippen der Pflanzen und Tiere [...;] je umfangreicher der abstrahierte Begriff, um so weniger Merkmale sind den darin enthaltenen engeren Begriffen gemeinsam, um so ärmer ist der Inhalt des Begriffs

  Werner, F.C. (1970). Die Benennung der Organismen und Organe nach Größe, Form, Farbe und anderen Merkmalen: 30-1.

  1979

  A character is [...] a theory, a theory that two attributes which appear different in some way are nonetheless the same (or homologous). As such, a character is not empirically observable

  Platnick, N.I. (1979). Philosophy and the transformation of cladistics. Syst. Zool. 28, 537-46: 542; cf. Nelson, G. & Platnick, N.I. (1981). Systematics and Biogeography. Cladistics and Vicariance.

  1982

  character 1: Any feature or attribute of an organism which forms the basis for comparison; cf. characteristic. 2: Any feature or trait transmitted from parent to offspring.

  Lincoln, R.J., Boxshall, G.A. & Clark, P.F. (1982). A Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics: 43.

  1987

  A character is a feature of organisms that can be evaluated as a variable with two or more mutually exclusive and ordered states

  Pimentel, R.A. & Riggins, R. (1987). The nature of cladistic data. Cladistics 3, 201-9: 201.

  1991

  A taxonomic character is any attribute by which a member of a taxon differs or may differ from a member of another taxon

  Mayr, E. & Ashlock, P.D. (1969/91). Principles of Systematic Zoology: 159.

  2001

  A biological character can be thought of as a part of an organism that exhibits causal coherence to have a well-defined identity and that plays a (causal) role in some biological process

  Wagner, G.P. (2001). Characters, units and natural kinds: an introduction. In: id. (ed.). The Character Concept in Evolutionary Biology, 1-10: 3.

  2004

  Characters as historical individuals Although transformation events constitute the relevant units of evolutionary change in phylogenetics, there must be some ‘‘thing’’ in existence to undergo transformation. […] Only individuals (in the ontological sense) can undergo change. In the same way that species and clades are conceptualized as increasingly inclusive historical individuals linked by a series of unique diversification events (Kluge, 1990; Grant, 2002), we propose that heritable variations among organisms be conceptualized as increasingly inclusive historical individuals linked by a series of transformation events, i.e. the transformation series of Hennig (1966).

  Grant, T. & Kluge, A.G. (2004). Transformation series as an ideographic character concept. Cladistics 20, 23-31: 25.