Speciation
- Speciation is an evolutionary process of the formation of new and distinct species. The species evolve by genetic modification.
- The new species are reproductively isolated from the previous species, i.e. the new species cannot mate with the old species.
- Speciation begins with race formation and as a rule, the races of a species are allopatric.
- Thus, the critical step which converts two races of a single species into two distinct species is the development of reproductive isolation between them.
- So, the geographical isolation initiates speciation by initiating race formation but is culminated by development of reproductive isolation.