3/1 Cladogram & Dichotomous Keys

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 1:54 PM

PART ONE: CLADOGRAMS- READ THE DIRECTIONS/EXAMPLE AND CREATE YOUR OWN CLADOGRAM
(PART 1 IS NOT ON GIZMO - JUST THE WORKSHEET)

Building a Cladogram
Character Matrix
A good first step in building a cladogram is to organize your data to clarify which derived characters are shared by which
species or taxa in question. For example, data gathered into a character matrix, such as the one below, can be reorganized so
that the hypothetical evolutionary relationships are more obvious.

 
Recognizing the table according to the number of derived characters yield the following matrix:

 
 
Cladograms
From the second table, it is not difficult to draw a cladogram like the one shown here. Notice that the animal that had only
one of the derived characters in the matrix is the first out-group, the one with just two shared derived characters is next, and
so on.
 

 
 
 Build Your Own Matrix and Cladogram
Now, imagine that you are given a list of the following animals and their characters:
• Mouse: hair, claws or nails, lungs, backbone
• Salamander: backbone, lungs
• Fish: backbone
• Ape: opposable thumbs, backbone, hair, lungs, claws or nails
 • Lizard: claws or nails, lungs, backbone
• Human: hair, backbone, lungs, claws or nails, opposable thumbs, fully bipedal
 
Use the bottom half of this paper to sort out the animals’ characters, determine which should be considered derived, construct
a table to organize them, and draw a cladogram. If you find yourself having difficulty, consider the possibility that one of the
listed characters may be analogous rather than homologous and derived.
 
Your Character Matrix:
 

Derived Character  Frog  Rodent Lizard    Gorilla  Fish Bird 

 Vertebrae  x x  x   x  x  x
 Four limbs  x  x  x  x    x
 Amniotic egg    x  x  x    x
 Egg shells      x      x
 Hair/fur    x    x    

Derived Character Fish Frog Rodent Gorilla Bird Lizard

Vertebrae x x x x x x
Four limbs x x x x x
Amniotic egg x x x x
Egg shells x x
Hair/fur x x

 
Your Cladogram:

PART TWO: DICHOTOMOUS KEY - LOG INTO EXPLORE LEARNING AND OPEN THE DICHTOMOUS KEY GIZMO TOTO
COMPLETE PART 2

Gizmo Warm-up
In the field, scientists often have to identify an unfamiliar organism (living thing). A reliable way
to identify organisms is to use a dichotomous key. A dichotomous key is a series of paired
statements or questions that lead to the identification of an organism.

The Dichotomous Keys Gizmo allows you to use five different dichotomous keys to identify a
variety of organisms. To begin, make sure California Albatrosses and Organism A are
selected.

1. Read the two statements at lower right. Which of the two statements most closely matches the
characteristics of the bird pictured “Large areas of the bird’s body are covered in white
feathers."
2. Select that statement and click Next. Continue until you have correctly identified the albatross. If
you change your mind about a choice, you can click the Back button. If you incorrectly identify
the albatross, you can click the Start Over button and try again.

A. What is the name of the albatross? short tailed albatross

B. The scientific name is shown in italics. Scientific names have two parts: the genus name
and the species name. What is the scientific name of this albatross?
Phoebastria albatross

Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:

• Make sure the California Albatrosses key is
Use a dichotomous selected.
key • Select Organism B.

Introduction: As you saw on the previous page, a dichotomous key can help you identify an
organism using its characteristics, or traits. The keys in this Gizmo use only physical traits,
such as feather color, to identify organisms. In some cases, behavioral traits are used in
dichotomous keys. For example, some frog species can be identified by their croaks.

Goal: Use a dichotomous key to identify albatross species found in California.

1. Compare: Take a close look at organism B.

A. How does organism B differ from organism A? Instead of 2 separate colors of feathers, this one
has 2 colors that mix together where they meet to create a blend of the colors. Also the beak
and head shape are very different.

B. What physical traits do you think can be used to help identify organism B?
The beak/head and the color of feathers.

2. Identify: Use the Gizmo to identify organism B. Then, identify the other albatrosses included in
the California Albatrosses key. Complete the table below.

California Albatrosses

Organism Common name Scientific name

A Short-tailed albatross
B Light mantled albatross
C Shy albatross
D Wandering albatross
E Laysan albatross
F Black-footed albatross
Phoebastria albatrus
Phoebetria palpebrata
Thalassarche cauta
Diomedia exulans
Phoebastria immutabilis
Phoebastria nigripes

3. Think and discuss: What do you think are some limitations of dichotomous keys?
The color of feathers, beak, and the head plumage. I think the combination of the beak color
and the head plumage around the eye were the most useful because it is the most unique
combination.

Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:

• Select the Canadian Rockies Buttercups key.
Identification practice • Select Organism A.
 Introduction: Dichotomous keys are written for small, specific groups of organisms. For
example, each dichotomous key in this Gizmo is used to identify six to eight related species
found within a geographic region.

Goal: Identify a variety of organisms using dichotomous keys.

1. Practice: Use the Gizmo’s dichotomous key to identify all the buttercups.

Canadian Rockies Buttercups

Organism Common name Scientific name

A Meadow Buttercup
B White water crowtoof
C Alkali buttercup
D Alpine buttercup
E Macoun's buttercup
F Dwarf buttercup
Ranunculus acris
Ranunculus aquatillis
Ranunculus cymbalaria
Ranunculus eschscholzil
Ranunculus macounii
Ranunculus pygmaeus

2. Analyze: Which traits were used to identify the flowers, and which of these traits did you think
were most useful? The scientific name 

3. Practice: Select the Texas Venomous Snakes key. Use the Gizmo’s dichotomous key to
identify all the snakes.

Texas Venomous Snakes

Organism Common name Scientific name

A Diamondback rattlesnake Crotalus atrox
B Scarlet kingsnake Lampropeltis elapsoides
C Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix
D Western massasauga rattlesnake Sistrurus catenatus
E Cottonmouth Agkistrodon piscivorus
F Timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus
G Coral snake Micrurus tener

(Activity B continued on next page)

Activity B (continued from previous page)

4. Reflect: Why is it important to be able to tell a scarlet kingsnake apart from a coral snake?
Because the coral snake is very similar to the scarlet except the coral is very dangerous and the
scarlet is harmless.

5. Practice: Select the Virginia Evergreens key. Use the Gizmo’s dichotomous key to identify all
the trees.

Virginia Evergreens

Organism Common name Scientific name

A Northern white cedar Thuja occidentalis
B Loblolly pine Pinus taeda
C Norway spruce Picea abies
D Eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis
 E Dawn redwood Matasequoia glyptostroboides
F Bald cypress Taxodium distichum
G Eastern white pine Pinus strobus
H Virginia pine Pinus virginiana

6. Practice: Select the Florida Cartilaginous Fishes key. Use the Gizmo’s dichotomous key to
identify all the fishes.

Florida Cartilaginous Fishes

Organism Common name Scientific name

A Black-tip shark Carcharhinus limbatus
B Southern stingray Dasyatis Americana
C Scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna leweni
D Sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus
E Shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus
F Bonnethead shark Sphyrna tiburo
G Atlantic stingray Dasyatis sabina
H Clearnose skate Raja eglanteria