Rock Hyrax: What is it’s closest living
relative?
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Phylogeny
● Systematics: classification of
organisms and determining
their evolutionary
relationships
○ Taxonomy: naming and
classifying species
○ Phylogenetics:
hypothesis of evolutionary
history
■ Use phylogenetic trees to
show evolution
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Phylogeny
● To determine evolutionary
relationships, scientists use:
○ Fossil records
○ DNA
○ Proteins
○ Homologous structures
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Phylogenetic Trees
● Phylogenetic trees: diagrams that represent the
evolutionary history of a group of organisms
○ Similar to cladograms, except trees show the
amount of change over time measured by
fossils
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Cladograms
● Each line represents a lineage
● Each branching point is a node
○ Nodes represent common ancestors
■ Nodes and all branches from it are called clades
■ Species in a clade have shared derived features
○ The root is the common ancestor of all the
species
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Cladograms
● Two clades that emerge from the same node are
sister taxa
● A lineage that evolved from the root and remains
unbranched is the basal taxon
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Cladograms
● Synapomorphy: a derived character shared by
clade members
○ Derived characteristic: similarity inherited from
the most recent common ancestor of an entire
group
○ Ancestral characteristic: similarity that arose
prior to the common ancestor
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Cladograms
● Many cladograms and trees include an outgroup
○ A lineage that is the least closely related to the
rest of the organisms
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Groups
● Monophyletic group: includes
the most recent common
ancestor of the group and all of
its descendants (clade)
● Paraphyletic group: includes
the most recent common
ancestor of the group, but not all
its descendants
● Polyphyletic group: does not
include the most recent common
ancestor of all members of the
group
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Parsimony
● If there are conflicts among characters, use the
principle of parsimony
○ Use the hypothesis that requires the fewest
assumptions (DNA changes)
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Practice Time
1. What is the common ancestor for butterflies, moths,
and flies (A, B, or C)
a. Answer: C
2. What is the basal taxon?
a. Answer: beetles
3. What is an example of a sister taxa?
a. Answer: butterflies, moths, and flies
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Practice Time
4. Examine the data table below. (+) represents the
presence of a trait. (-) represents the absence of a trait.
Create a cladogram that would best represent the data.
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Practice Time
5. Examine the data table below. (+) represents the
presence of a trait. (-) represents the absence of a trait.
Create a cladogram that would best represent the data
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Practice Time
6. Examine the data table below. (+) represents the
presence of a trait. (-) represents the absence of a trait.
Which cladogram best represents the data.
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