Systematics and Primate Clades

Question 1

the discipline within biology that is concerned with:

1. inferring the evolutionary relationships among organisms
2. organizing and naming taxa

Answer 1

systematics

Question 2

inferring the evolutionary relationships among organisms

Answer 2

phylogeny reconstruction

Question 3

organizing and naming taxa

Answer 3

classification

Question 4

• classifies species based on overall similarity
• not concerned with phylogeny
• earliest approach, now lesscommon

Answer 4

phenetics

Question 5

• classifies species based on phylogeny only

- developed in 60s and now dominant

Answer 5

cladistics

Question 6

• father of taxonomy and systematics
• catalogued nature
• developed systema naturae

Answer 6

Carolus Linnaeus

Question 7

the scientific name of a species contains both the genus and species

Answer 7

binomial nomenclature

Question 8

Exclusively concerned with evolutionary relationships
-evaluates relationships between organisms by examining variation in traits and whether they are shared among multiple groups of organisms, or are unique to a single group

Answer 8

Cladistics

Question 9

What is the term when an ancestral species and all of its descendent species are nested within larger clades

Answer 9

clades

Question 10

an ancestral species and some of its descendents

Answer 10

paraphyletic grouping

Question 11

a group of species but not including the ancestor

Answer 11

polyphyletic grouping

Question 12

a trait that is found in the last common ancestor of some specified group of taxa and that is expected to be in that ancestor’s descendants

Answer 12

symplesiomorphy

Question 13

a trait that has changed from the condition seen in the last common ancestor and which is shared among some of its descendants

Answer 13

synapomorphy

Question 14

a trait that has changed from the condition seen in the last common ancestor and which is not shared among some of its descendants

Answer 14

autapomorphy

Question 15

similarities between organisms based on descent from a common ancestor

Answer 15

homology

Question 16

similarities between organisms based strictly on common function, with no assumed common evolutionary descent

Answer 16

analogy

Question 17

the separate evolutionary development of similar characteristics in different groups of organisms

Answer 17

homoplasy, also called convergent evolution

Question 18

analysis of molecular differences to gain information about shared evolutionary relationships

Answer 18

molecular phylogenetics

Question 19

Used to test hypotheses about adaptation

Answer 19

comparative method