a derived character that is shared by all of the members of a clade, but is not possessed by the immediate ancestors of the clade

a trait that appears for the first time at a given position in the cladogram," he surgically removed any reference to what Luo had been talking about in this specific instance

A derived or specialized character. (also derived trait) more

(Paleoanthropology) A later state of a character relative to its ancestral state.