EXAMPLES THREE CLASSIFICATIONS
1. Phenetic Classification
The phenetic, or phenotypic, approach is one of the most common methods used in
biology to classify species into groups. The phenetic technique groups species based on their
observable phenetic characteristics; if two species look more similar to each other than to any
other species, they will be placed together.
For example: consider five species of bugs (A-E):
Ten characteristics (and the character states in parentheses) are noted:
1. Pointed nose (present or absent)
2. Four legs (present or absent)
3. Toes on legs (present or absent)
4. Large eyes (present or absent)
5. Triangular shield on back (present or absent)
6. Front legs stripped (present or absent)
7. Five spots on the back (present or absent)
8. Palps on posterior end (present or absent)
9. Antennae thick (present or absent)
10. Antennae covered with hairs so that they look stripped (present or absent)
The information can be recorded in a table:
The ratio of the number of matches between two taxa to the total number of characters is known
as the simple matching similarity coefficient. When the coefficient is multiplied by 100, it refers
to the percentage of characteristics shared by the two taxa.
The simple matching similarity for taxon A and taxon B is:
All of the matching coefficients can be represented in a matrix:
Clustering
i. Find the two most similar animals and link them.
From the similarity table , we can see two groups share 80% - B and C and D and E. These taxa
are linked first at 80%:
ii. Link the next most similar taxa.
According to the similarity table, the next highest cluster is 70%. But now we're at a crossroads:
should we connect A to B-C, or D-E to B? If we connect A, B, and C, it will cluster with the B-C
group at 70%:
A-B = 0.7
A-C = 0.7
average = 0.7 + 0.7 ÷ 2 = 0.7
However, in order to connect B to the D-E cluster, we should also include C, as it is already
connected to B:
D-B = 0.7
D-C = 0.5
E-B = 0.7
E-C = 0.5
average = 0.7 + 0.5 + 0.7 + 0.5 ÷ 4 = 0.6
So, we can see that connecting A next is the better option because it joins at a higher level and
has a higher overall resemblance to the BC cluster:
iii. Link D-E to the A-B-C- cluster by averaging
Because of its 0.7 similarity between B and DE, the D-E cluster must have been related to the A-
C-B cluster. This is accomplished by calculating the average similarity of D and E to every one
of the 3 taxa in the A-B-C cluster:
A-D = 0.4
B-D = 0.7
C-D = 0.5
A-E = 0.4
B-E = 0.7
C-E = 0.5
total = 3.20
average = 3.2 ÷ 6 = 0.53
Then the A-B-C cluster and D-E are linked at 0.53 and the PHENOGRAM is complete:
2. Cladistics Classification
Cladistics is a fundamental method for building phylogenies, or evolutionary histories.
Cladistics groups species into clades based on shared, distinctive characteristics. These clades are
more closely linked to each other than other groupings because they share at least one unique
trait present in their most recent common ancestor that is not seen elsewhere.
These shared characteristics can be physical, such as bone structure or muscle
composition; behavioral, such as nocturnal or diurnal patterns; molecular, such as DNA or
protein composition; or a combination of the two.
For example, primates can be called a clade since they share several unique, shared
characteristics that they acquired from a common ancestor, and these characteristics are not seen
in other species (or if present, are of markedly different origins). This included adaptation for
living in trees, high brain size, a slower rate of development, and other traits in primates.
Another example:
Multicellular eukaryotes spawned a plethora of progressively more complex creatures.
Fish and humans, for example, share a common progenitor millions of years ago. A simple
cladogram displaying the cladistic linkages can depict that intricate interaction. Begin by
visualizing an ancestral eukaryote at the root of the tree.
One node on the tree branched off into aquatic vertebrates like jawless fish as the
common ancestor evolved. The branch then split into four-legged tetrapods at the next node.
The following node reveals a split when animals developed fur or hair, followed by a
divergence when animals formed amniotic eggs. Humans and primates split and evolved
separately much later.
3. Evolutionary Classification
According to genetic and ontogenetic evidence, birds and crocodilians share a common
ancestry.
The traditional phylogeny diagram indicates that mammals developed from an unknown
common ancestor and another unidentified common ancestor. Turtles and a third unidentified
ancestor arose from that second unknown predecessor. The third unknown descendant evolved
into the common ancestor of birds, crocodiles, and tuataras and squamates. Turtles developed
early and have stayed largely unaltered for eons. However, DNA evidence (or "molecular
phylogeny") paints a different picture. It demonstrates, for example, that turtles and crocodiles
recently originated from a shared ancestor that also included birds as progeny.
However, because birds have feathers, are "warm-blooded," and appear to be very
different from crocodilians, they are classified as Aves by classical evolutionary scientists,
whereas crocodilians are classified as Reptilia. This indicates that the Reptilia Class does not
include all of the species that evolved from the original ancestral reptile that gave rise to lizards,
snakes, crocodilians, and birds. A paraphyletic artificial taxon is one that does not include all
descendants of a single ancestor. Similarly, Homo sapiens has historically been classified into its
own family (Hominidae), despite the fact that there is no objective basis to divide it from the
giant apes (Pongidae). Pongidae, like Reptilia, are paraphyletic (excluding Homo sapiens).