Chapter 26: Polygeny

BIOL 102

Polygeny

the evolutionary history of a species or group of related species

systematics

discipline focused on classifying organisms and determining their evolutionary relationships

Invented a taxonomy system based on resemblances

Carolus Linnaeus

binomial

two-part scientific name of a species

Hierarchy of taxonomical groups

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

Phylogenies are inferred from?

morphological and molecular data

Homology

phenotypic and genetic similarities due to shared ancestry

Anology

evolution of similar features of distantly related groups

symplesiomorphy

a character that originated in an ancestor of the taxon; shared ancestral character

Synapomorphy

an evolutionary novelty unique to a particular clade

Outgroup

a species closely related to, but not part of the group of species that are of interest

Ingroup

group of species of interest

Maximum parsimony

assumes that the most likely tree is the one with the fewest evolutionary events

maximum likelihood

identifies the tree most likely to have produced a given set of DNA data based on probability rules on how DNA changes over time