Lecture 2. Tree Of Life

Question 1

Homology

Answer 1

Any similarity between to traits due to shared ancestry

Question 2

Synapormophies

Answer 2

Derived form of trait shared by a group of related species

Question 3

Artiodactyla

Answer 3

Order of mammals with even-toed hooves

Question 4

Astragalus

Answer 4

Ankle bone possessed by Artiodactyla

Question 5

Ectotympanic bone (involcrum)

Answer 5

Bone only found in cetaceans (whales and dolphins)

Question 6

Pakicetus

Answer 6

Ancestor of whales

Question 7

Phylogeny

Answer 7

Representation of evolutionary history

Question 8

Phylogenetic tree nodes

Answer 8

Points in a phylogeny where a lineage splits

Question 9

Phylogenetic tree tips

Answer 9

Terminal ends of an evolutionary tree

Question 10

Clades

Answer 10

Single ‘branches’, an organism and all of it’s descendants

Question 11

Amniotes

Answer 11

Organisms that possess internal eggs

Question 12

Taxa

Answer 12

Group of organisms that form a cohesive taxonomic unit, such as ‘order’

Question 13

Characters

Answer 13

Heritable aspects that can be compared

Question 14

Autopomorphis

Answer 14

Unique qualities of an animal that do not provide useful grouping info

Question 15

Monophyletic

Answer 15

A group of organisms in a clade

Question 16

Polyphyletic

Answer 16

A taxon that that does not include the common ancestor of all the members of the taxon

Question 17

Paraphyletic

Answer 17

A group of organisms that share a common ancestor although the group doesn’t include all the descendants of the common ancestor

Question 18

Homoplasy

Answer 18

A character state similarity not due to shared descent (convergent evolution)

Question 19

Convergent Evolution

Answer 19

Independent origin of similar traits in separate evolutionary lineages

Question 20

Evolutionary reversal

Answer 20

The reversion of a derived character state to a form resembling the ancestral state