Bio Lab: Invertebrate Morphology and Cladistics

Who is considered the first taxonomist?

Aristotle

What classification system did Carolus Linnaeus invent?

The binomial classification system

What does the acronym KPCOFGS stand for in taxonomy?

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

What major concept did Charles Darwin introduce in taxonomy?

Life evolved from a common ancestor through natural selection

What is the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA)?

The most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth

What is phylogenetic systematics?

The study of how organisms are related through evolution

What is convergent evolution?

When unrelated organisms evolve similar features to solve similar problems

What is divergent evolution?

When related organisms develop different traits from a common ancestor

What is a synapomorphy?

A shared trait inherited from a common ancestor that defines a group

Give an example of a synapomorphy for mammals.

Hair and mammary glands

What is cladistics?

A method of classifying organisms based on shared traits into clades

What is a clade?

A group that includes an ancestor and all its descendants

What is a cladogram?

A branch diagram that shows ancestral relationships among organisms

What is the significance of sister groups in cladistics?

They are two descendant lineages that share a common ancestor

What are the main characteristics of Phylum Porifera?

Includes sponges, specialized cells but no tissues, asymmetric body plan