Biological Science: Phylogenies and the History of Life

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture on phylogenies and the history of life.

Phylogeny

The branching evolutionary history of a group of organisms.

Phylogenetic tree

A simplified diagram representing the evolutionary history of a group of organisms.

Systematics

The science that characterizes and classifies relationships among all organisms.

Monophyletic group

A group that forms an evolutionary unit including an ancestral population and all of its descendants.

Outgroup

A group closely related to the study group, used to distinguish ancestral versus derived traits.

Ancestral trait

A character that existed in an ancestor.

Derived trait

A modified form of an ancestral trait found in a descendant.

Homoplasy

Similarity in traits due to independent evolution, not common ancestry.

Homology

Similarity in traits derived from a common ancestor.

Synapomorphies

Shared derived traits used to identify monophyletic groups.

Convergent evolution

The independent evolution of similar traits in distantly related organisms.

Taxa

The groups of organisms that are classified in systematic biology.

Data matrix

A matrix used in phylogenetic studies to organize character traits of organisms being compared.