Phylogeny
Concept · Biology, stage 1: Learn the vocabulary
A phylogeny is the branching history of descent that connects a set of organisms, and a phylogenetic tree is a diagram of that history inferred from evidence. Branch points are inferred common ancestors, not observed ones. Trees are now built mainly from DNA and protein sequences by asking which arrangement of branches best explains the observed differences, and any tree is a hypothesis that new data can revise.
Why it matters
It converts classification from a filing system into a claim about history, and reading a tree correctly is the skill that most often separates understanding an evolutionary paper from misreading it.
Part of
Sources
- Phylogenetics Wikipedia
- Phylogenetic Trees and Monophyletic Groups Nature Education ScitableHow to read a tree, including the ways the layout misleads people who have not been told what it does not mean.
- Understanding Evolution UC Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley
