Catagenesis is an archaic term from evolutionary biology referring to evolutionary directions that were considered "retrogressive." It was a term used in contrast to anagenesis, which in present usage denotes the evolution of a single population into a new form without branching lines of descent. Cladogenesis is the term used for branching lines of descent; i.e., when the evolutionary origin of a new form is not accompanied by the disappearance of the ancestral form.
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