A diagram depicting hypothetical relationships between species based on characters, consisting of clades of taxon or Operating Taxonomic Units (OTUs) grouped together due to their relatedness
Monophyleticgrouping
A clade where all descendants share a common ancestor
Polyphyletic group
A group that includes some or all the descendants, but not the common ancestor
CLADISTIC ANALYSIS is used by biologists to study the evolutionary classifications of organisms
A cladogram is constructed to classify organisms based on their derived characteristics
Outgroup is a group of organisms that do not share any traits and serve as a comparison to the phylogeny being studied
Synapomorphy
Derived similar characteristics shared by organisms that form separate lineages from the original branch
Pleiomorphic characters
Primitive traits only present in ancestors
A cladogram is often used in cladistic analysis to depict hypothetical relationships between species based on characters
Autapomorphy
A derived trait that is unique to one group only
Paraphyletic group
A group that does not include all the descendants of a common ancestry
Discuss potential limitations of cladograms, and how these limitations might impact the accuracy of evolutionary inferences
Analysis
After which animals does the four limbs character develop?
Which animal/s have amniotic egg?
What is a derived character of ray-finned fish and amphibians?
Which animal/s does not have vertebrate?
What character traits separate amphibians and crocodiles?
How can you differentiate ancestral and derived traits in cladogram?
