Taxonomic Hierarchy and Phylogenetic Trees

Taxon Divergence

Determining when a group diverged from a common ancestor

Taxonomic Group Identification

Associating organism names with their taxonomic group

Taxonomy

Hierarchical system with successive levels

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Organisms divided into domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

Broadest to Narrowest Order

Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Genus and Species

Distinguishable names of an organism

Phylogenetic Tree

Illustrates evolutionary relationships between different taxa

Common Ancestor

Ancestor shared by different taxa in a phylogenetic tree

Interpreting Phylogenetic Trees

Understanding relationships and common ancestors in a tree