sal·ta·tion /sælˈteʃən, sɔl-/
 舞蹈,跳躍,突變


 sal·ta·tion /sælˈteʃən, sɔl-/ 名詞
 跳躍,舞蹈,沿有髓鞘神經傳導,突變,種群突變


 Sal·ta·tion n.
 1. A leaping or jumping.
    Continued his saltation without pause.   --Sir W. Scott.
 2. Beating or palpitation; as, the saltation of the great artery.
 3. Biol. An abrupt and marked variation in the condition or appearance of a species; a sudden modification which may give rise to new races.
    We greatly suspect that nature does make considerable jumps in the way of variation now and then, and that these saltations give rise to some of the gaps which appear to exist in the series of known forms.   --Huxley.

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 saltation
      n 1: (geology) the leaping movement of sand or soil particles as
           they are transported in a fluid medium over an uneven
           surface
      2: a mutation that drastically changes the phenotype of an
         organism or species
      3: an abrupt transition; "a successful leap from college to the
         major leagues" [syn: leap, jump]
      4: taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time
         to music [syn: dancing, dance, terpsichore]
      5: a light springing movement upwards or forwards [syn: leap,
          leaping, spring, bound, bounce]