Glossary
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Glossary Terms for letter: B
balanced polymorphism Situation in which selection maintains two or more phenotypes for a specific gene in a population.
basal anthropoids Eocene primates that are possibly ancestral to anthropoids.
basal metabolic rate (BMR) The rate at which an organism's body, while at rest, expends energy to maintain basic bodily functions; measured by the amount of heat given off per kilogram of body weight.
basal metabolic requirement The minimum amount of energy needed to keep an organism alive.
Bergmann's Rule The principle that an animal's size is heat-related; smaller bodies are adapted to hot environments, and larger bodies are adapted to cold environments.
bilophodont Refers to lower molars, in Old World monkeys, that have two ridges.
biocultural approach The scientific study of the interrelationship between what humans have inherited genetically and culture.
biological (physical) anthropology The study of the evolution, variation, and adaptation of humans and their past and present relatives.
biostratigraphic dating A relative dating method that uses the associations of fossils in strata to determine each layer's approximate age.
bipedalism Walking on two legs.
Biretia A later basal anthropoid genus found in the Fayum, Egypt, that may be ancestral to anthropoids.
blending inheritance An outdated, disreputed theory that the phenotype of an offspring was a uniform blend of the parents' phenotypes.
bone mass The density of bone per unit of measure.
brachiators Organisms that move by brachiation, or arm-swinging.
Branisella A South American genus from the Oligocene, ancestral to platyrrhines.
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