Phylogenetic Reconstruction Flashcards
phylogeny
The evolutionary history of a species or group of species.
systematics
A scientific dicipline focused on classifying organisms and determining their evolutionary relationships.
taxonamy
A scientific dicipline concerned with naming and classifying the divers forms of life.
binomial (or binomen)
The two-part, latinized formate for naming a species, consisting of the genus and specific epithet.
genus
- plural genera
- A taxonomic category above the species level, designated by the first word of a species’ two-part scientific name.
family
In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic category above genus.
order
In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic catagory above the level of family.
class
In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic catagory above the level of order.
phylum
- plural phyla
- In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic catagory above class.
kingdom
- A taxonomic catagory above the phylum level
- the second broadest after domain.
domain
- A taxonomic category above the kingdom level.
- The 3 domains are: -Achaea
- Bacteria
- Eukarya
taxon
- plural taxa
- A named taxonomic unit at any given level of classification.
phylogenetic tree
A branching diagram that represents a hypothesis about the evolutionary history of a group of organisms
branch point
The representation on a phylogenetic treeof the divergence of two or more taxa from a common ancestor. A branch point is usually shown as a dichotomy in which a branch representing the ancestral lineage splits (at the branch point) into two branches, one for each of the two descendant lineages.
siter taxa
Groups of organisms that share an immediate common ancestor and hence are each other’s closest relatives.
rooted
Describing a phylogenetic tree that contains a branch point (often, the one farthest to the left) representing the ost recent common ancestor of all taxa in the tree.
basal taxon
In a specific group of organisms, a taxon whose evolutionary lineage diverged early in the history of the group.
homology
Similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry.
analogy
Similarity between two species that is due to converrgent evolution rather than to descent from a common ancestor with the same trait.
cladistics
A approach to systematics in which organisms are placed into groups called cclades based primarily on common descent.
clade
- A group of species that includes an ancestral species and all of its descendents.
- A clade is equivelant to the monophyletic group.
monophyletic
- A group of taxa that consists of a common ancestor and all of its descendents.
- A monophyletic taxon in equivalent to a clade.
paraphyletic
A group of taxa that consita of a common ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendant.
polyphyletic
A group of taxa that includes distantly related organisms but does not include their most recent common ancestor.
