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terms 17.2
Term | Definition |
---|---|
cladistics | a phylogenic classification system that uses shared derived characteristics and ancestry as the sole criterion for grouping taxa |
clade | a taxonomic grouping that includes only a single ancestor and all of its descendants |
cladogram | a diagram that is based on patterns of shared, derived traits and that shows the evolutionary relationships between groups of organisms |
derived character | a feature that evolved only within a particular taxonomic group |
phylogenetics | the analysis of evolutionary, or ancestral, relationships between taxa |
phylogenetic diagram | a branching diagram that models the relationships by ancestry between different species or other taxonomic groups |
shared character | a feature that is shared by all members of a particular group of organisms |
systematics | the classification of living organisms in terms of their natural relationships; includes describing, naming, and classifying the organisms |