Week 14 - Phylogenies and Categorizing Life

Question 1

taxonomy

Answer 1

science of classifying organisms

Question 2

taxa (pl.) / taxon (sing.)

Answer 2

narrowest/most specific group of organisms within a hierarchy
Example: canus lupus familiaris = domestic dog is the only taxon
canus lupus = domestic dog and wolf

Question 3

what are the categories of life, from broadest to narrowest?

Answer 3

Domain (Did)
Kingdom (King)
Phylum (Philip)
Class (Come)
Order (Over)
Family (For)
Genus (Good spices)

Question 4

binomial nomenclature

Answer 4

system of naming organisms; two-part naming method for species; latin based
1st part = genus
2nd part = species

Question 5

what are the two parts of binomial nomenclature?

Answer 5

1st part of name = genus (sing.) / genera (pl.)

2nd part = species

Question 6

phylogeny

Answer 6

evolutionary history of a group of organisms and their relationship

Question 7

systematics

Answer 7

study of phylogeny

Question 8

phylogenetic tree

Answer 8

diagrams showing (or hypothesizing) evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms

Question 9

node

Answer 9

branch points representing a common ancestral species that underwent speciation, thereby splitting the lineage

Question 10

sister taxa

Answer 10

groups of organisms that share an IMMEDIATE common ancestor (e.g. chimps and humans)

Question 11

basal taxon

Answer 11

lineage that diverges early in the groups history

Question 12

rooted phylogenetic tree

Answer 12

shows a common ancestor for all those on the tree

Question 13

monophyletic clade

Answer 13

groups which includes an ancestral species and all of its descendants

Question 14

homologous structures

Answer 14

shared characteristics due to shared ancestry

Question 15

convergent evolution

Answer 15

shared characteristics between organisms due to evolutionary necessity not due to ancestry but because of living in similar/same environments for example