Cladogram and Cladistics Concepts

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to cladograms, cladistics, and evolutionary classification.

Cladogram

A diagram that depicts evolutionary relationships among groups.

Phylogeny

The study of evolutionary relationships.

Evolutionary Classification

A strategy that groups organisms based on evolutionary relationships rather than physical appearance.

Cladistics

A form of analysis that looks at features of organisms that are considered innovations or derived characters.

Derived Characters

Features that appear in later organisms but not in earlier ones, signifying evolutionary innovations.

Galapagos Finch

A group of finches, used to study evolutionary relationships among species.

Genus and Species Naming

The scientific method of naming organisms, where the genus is capitalized and the species is lowercase, both underlined.

Common Ancestor

The most recent common ancestor from which different species have evolved.

Time Direction in Cladograms

time generally passes from the bottom to the top.

Primates

A group of mammals that includes lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans, studied in evolutionary contexts.