Species flock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In evolutionary biology, a species flock is a diverse group of closely related species in an isolated area.

A species flock may arise when a species penetrates a new geographical area and diversifies to occupy a variety of ecological niches; this process is known as adaptive radiation. The first species flock to be recognized as such was the 13 species of Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Islands described by Charles Darwin.

A species flock may also arise when a species acquires an adaptation that allows it to exploit a new ecological niche. For example, the Antarctic icefishes are a species flock of 122 marine fishes that have an adaptation that allows them to survive in the freezing, ice-laden waters of the Southern Ocean because of the presence of an antifreeze glycoprotein in their blood and body fluids.

The cichlids are a group of perciform fishes that contains a number of species flocks found in the lakes and rivers of central and southern Africa.