LIFESCI 7B Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Monophyly, Phylogenetics, Polyphyly
4 Sep 2018
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Document Summary
Phylogenetics discovers the pattern of evolutionary relatedness among groups of species/other groups by comparing their anatomical/molecular features. These features are depicted as a phylogenetic tree--a hypothesis about the evolutionary history of a species. Tress explore relatedness of particular groups of individuals, populations, or species. Two species/groups of species are considered to be closest relatives if they share a common ancestor not shared by any other species/group. Sister groups: groups that are more closely related to each other than either of them is to any other group. The more recent a common ancestor, the more closely related two groups are. Of the 3, monophyletic groups are an accurate re ection of evolutionary relationships bc they include the common ancestor and all of its descendants. Monophyletic groups show the entire evolutionary path the group has taken since its origin: monophyletic (aka a clade): all members share a single common ancestor not shared with by any other species/group of species.
