ancestral character
A feature that all members in a group have in common.
animalia
Found in the domain Eukarya, these are coomplex eukaryotic organisms with no cell walls and membranes, multicellular, develope from embroys, and heterotrophic by phagocytosis.
archaea
Domain consists of prokaryotes with distinctive cell membranes and other unique biochemical and genetic properties found in extreme environements.
archaebacteria
Means "ancient bacteria" and a kingdom found under the domain archaea.
bacteria
Domain made up of small, single-celled prokaryotic organisms that usually have cell walls and reproduce by cellular fission (binary fission).
binomial nomenclature
A system for giving each organism a two-word scientific name that consists of the genus name followed by the species name
clade
A group of organisms that include an ancestor plus all of its descendents
cladistics
A system of phylogenetic analysis that uses shared and derived characteristics as the only critera for grouping.
cladogram
A diagram that is based on patterns of shared, derived traits and that shows the evolutionary relationships between groups of organisms
class
Category contained in a phylum
Classification
The process of grouping things based on their similarities
derived character
A feature that evolved only within a group under consideration.
dichotomy
Two opposite parts of one whole
domain
First category in Linnaeus' taxonomy model.
eubacteria
Means "true bacteria" and a kingdom found under the domain bacteria.
eukarya
Domain that contains eukaryotic organisms which are large and have a true nucleus and complex organelles.
family
Contained within a order and contains a genus
fungi
Found in the domain Eukarya, these have cell walls, made of chitin, can usually be multicellular or unicellular, and are heterotrophic by secreting digestive enzymes.
genus
Contained in a family and contains a species
kingdom
Second category in the Linnaeus' hierarchical model (under domain)
molecular clock
a technique that uses the mutation rate of biomolecules to deduce the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverged
order
Contained within a class and contains families.
phylogenetic diagram
resembles a family tree showing evolutionary relationships
phylogeny
evolutionary history
phylum
Group of closely related classes
plantae
Found in the domain Eukarya, these have cell walls made of cellulose and usually are multicellular (develope from embryos); autotrophic by photosynthesis
protista
Found in the domain Eukarya, these have cell walls, made of cellulose, and mostly unicellular, autotrophic by photosynthesis.
Species
Found in the genus grouping and contains only one organism type.
subspecies
Variation of a specie that live in different geographical areas
taxon
Any particular group in a taxonomy
taxonomy
The science of describing, naming, and classifying organisms.