Reading Phylogenetic Trees
9th Grade · Science · 15 min
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Learning Objective
I can interpret a phylogenetic tree to understand evolutionary relationships.
- 1
A cladogram is a diagram that serves as a hypothesis for possible evolutionary relationships among organisms based on shared characteristics.
- 2
A clade includes a common ancestor and all of its descendants, and an intersection spot on a cladogram represents a node, which can represent a common ancestor.
- 3
Cladograms show how lineages diverge and common ancestry, and relatedness is determined by internal nodes, not the proximity of tips.
