Taxonomy

CLADES AND KEYS

Warm Up- 2/8
 What did the salamander gain to evolve from
the tuna fish?
Good Things
Worksheet
Title:
Cladograms, Phylogenetic Trees,
and Dichotomus Keys
Evolutionary Classification

• Phylogeny = the study of evolutionary

relationships
• Biologists now group organisms into
categories that represent evolutionary
descent (and not just physical similarities)
How would you classify a
hyena? Would you group it
with cats or dogs?
Overview: Investigating the
Tree of Life

 Evolutionary theory is so important to modern

biology that it is how biologist organize the modern
world
 Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a species or
group of related species usually organized into a
phylogenetic tree
 Phylogenetic trees and cladograms arrange organisms
based on common ancestry and shared characteristics.
Cladograms

 A diagram that shows

evolutionary relationships
How to Read Cladograms

Look at the cladogram at the

right. What conclusions can be
drawn about the relationship
between humans and chimps?
How to read a cladogram
• This diagram shows a relationship between 4
relatives.
• Relatives share a common ancestor at the root of
the tree.
• The older organism is at the bottom of the tree.
• The four descendants at the top of the tree are
DIFFERENT species. This is called SPECIATION.
How to read a cladogram

• Branches on the tree represent speciation

• The event that caused speciation is shown as
a fork on the tree.
 How to read a cladogram
• Species B and C each have characteristics that are
unique only to them.
• But they also share some part of their history with
species A. This shared history is the common
ancestor.
How to read a cladogram
What is the difference between a
phylogenetic tree and a
cladogram
 Many biologists use these terms interchangeably
 Some scientists associate phylogenetic trees with true
evolutionary history
 Some scientists consider cladograms to represent
hypotheses about a group of organisms’ ancestry
What is the difference between a
phylogenetic tree and a
cladogram?
 In phylogenetic trees branch lengths can represent the
amount of genetic change or prediction to time
 In cladograms the branch lengths are usually
considered to be arbitrary

Cladogra
m
Cladogram Video
Dichotomous Keys
• A step-by-step guide to help identify an
organism
• Follows a series of choices that lead you to
the organism’s name

What am I??
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Warm Up- 2/11
 Which organism has the greatest genetic
difference from the Spectacled Bear?
Good Things
Taxonomy Foldable

 Google Classroom