Name: Date: MAY 12, 2021 Section: TESLA
READ!
CLADOGRAM ANALYSIS
What is a cladogram? It is a diagram that depicts evolutionary relationships among groups. It is
based on PHYLOGENY, which is the study of evolutionary relationships. Sometimes a cladogram
is called a phylogenetic tree (though technically, there are minor differences between the two).
In the past, biologists would group organisms based solely on their physical appearance. Today,
with the advances in genetics and biochemistry, biologists can look more closely at individuals
to discover their pattern of evolution, and group them accordingly - this strategy is called
EVOLUTIONARY CLASSIFICATION
CLADISTICS is form of analysis that looks at features of organisms that are considered
"innovations", or newer features that serve some kind of purpose. (Think about what the word
"innovation" means in regular language.) These characteristics appear in later organisms but not
earlier ones and are called DERIVED CHARACTERS.
Fill out the following character matrix. Mark an “X” if an organism has the trait.
Cells Legs Antenna Wings 2 sets of wings
Worm
X
Spider X X
Carpenter Ant
X X X
House fly X X X X
Dragonfly
X X X X X
In the box below, create a cladogram based on your matrix.
1. Start with a timeline: oldest organisms on the bottom left, newest on the top right.
2. Use your derived characters to show the appearance of new species carrying that trait in your
timeline.
3. Remember: your derived characters are cumulative!
4. Show each new species branching off to the left and up in your timeline. Name each species.
DRAGONFLY
HOUSE
FLY 2
SET OF
CARPENTER WINGS
ANT WINGS
SPIDER
ANTENNA
WORM
LEGS
CELLS
1. According to your cladogram, which two species are more closely related: worms
and spiders or worms and ants? How?
Answer: The worms and spiders are more closely related to each other because
of its similarity. They have the same traits which is cells and also spiders only have
legs compare to ants.
2. According to your cladogram, what species are dragonflies most closely related to?
How?
Answer: According to the cladogram, flies or the house fly is most closely related
to the dragonflies. They have the same traits except that dragonfly has two sets of
wings.
3. Use the following cladogram to answer the questions below.
4. What trait separates lampreys from tuna on this cladogram?
Answer: The trait that separates lampreys from tuna is the Jaws.
5. Which organism is most related to the leopard?
Answer: Among the organism, turtle seems the most related the leopard.
6. Which organism’s DNA will differ the most from the leopard? Why?
Answer: The Lancelet’s DNA is the farthest among all the organism. Hence, its
DNA will have a big difference to the leopard.
Use the following cladogram to answer the questions
below.
7. What separates rabbits/primate from the crocodiles on this cladogram?
Answer: The eggs with shells are the one that separates the rabbits/primates
from the crocodiles.
8. Which organism is most related to the rodents and rabbits on this cladogram?
Answer: The organism that mostly related to the rodents and rabbits is the
primates.
9. What 5 traits do the bird and its closest relative share?
Answer: As shown to the cladogram, the five traits of the birds are eggs with
shells, amniotic acid, four limb, bony skeleton, and vertebrae.
10. Which organism will have DNA most similar to the bird? Why?
Answer: Bird is the top organism shown in the cladogram. Among them, the
crocodile organism has the most similar DNA to the bird. They are connected in the
cladogram and also they have similar traits.
11. Which organism’s DNA will differ the most from the bird? Why?
Answer: Similar to the first cladogram, the farthest among the organism will be
differ the most from the bird and that is the sharks. They also have the least traits in
common.
