Cladograms

What does a cladogram show us? A cladogram shows evolutionary relationships between groups of living things. It is like a family tree for species.

How do you read a cladogram? The closer two species are on the cladogram, the more closely they are related. This means they evolved apart more recently. Sometimes a cladogram will list the characteristics that make two groups or organisms different (traits). Everything past this point has four walking legs!

How do you make a cladogram? Let’s make a cladogram that includes slugs, catfish, frogs, tigers, and humans. A. Make a table of some adaptations that the organisms share, and some that are unique. For example: Cells Backbone Legs Hair Thumbs Slug Catfish Frog Tiger Human

How do you make a cladogram? Let’s make a cladogram that includes slugs, catfish, frogs, tigers, and humans. A. Make a table of some adaptations that the organisms share, and some that are unique. For example: Cells Backbone Legs Hair Thumbs Slug X Catfish Frog Tiger Human

How do you make a cladogram? Let’s make a cladogram that includes slugs, catfish, frogs, tigers, and humans. A. Make a table of some adaptations that the organisms share, and some that are unique. For example: Cells Backbone Legs Hair Thumbs Slug X Catfish Frog Tiger Human

How do you make a cladogram? Let’s make a cladogram that includes slugs, catfish, frogs, tigers, and humans. A. Make a table of some adaptations that the organisms share, and some that are unique. For example: Cells Backbone Legs Hair Thumbs Slug X Catfish Frog Tiger Human

How do you make a cladogram? Let’s make a cladogram that includes slugs, catfish, frogs, tigers, and humans. A. Make a table of some adaptations that the organisms share, and some that are unique. For example: Cells Backbone Legs Hair Thumbs Slug X Catfish Frog Tiger Human

How do you make a cladogram? Let’s make a cladogram that includes slugs, catfish, frogs, tigers, and humans. A. Make a table of some adaptations that the organisms share, and some that are unique. For example: Cells Backbone Legs Hair Thumbs Slug X Catfish Frog Tiger Human

How do you make a cladogram? B. Then create a Venn diagram, placing the animals in groups to illustrate those characteristics which different animals have in common. Cells: Slug, Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human

How do you make a cladogram? B. Then create a Venn diagram, placing the animals in groups to illustrate those characteristics which different animals have in common. Cells: Slug, Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human Backbone: Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human

How do you make a cladogram? B. Then create a Venn diagram, placing the animals in groups to illustrate those characteristics which different animals have in common. Cells: Slug, Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human Backbone: Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human Legs: Frog, Tiger and Human

How do you make a cladogram? B. Then create a Venn diagram, placing the animals in groups to illustrate those characteristics which different animals have in common. Cells: Slug, Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human Backbone: Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human Legs: Frog, Tiger and Human Hair: Tiger and Human

How do you make a cladogram? B. Then create a Venn diagram, placing the animals in groups to illustrate those characteristics which different animals have in common. Cells: Slug, Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human Backbone: Catfish, Frog, Tiger and Human Legs: Frog, Tiger and Human Hair: Tiger and Human Thumbs: Human

How do you make a cladogram? C. Draw your cladogram. It is assumed that organisms with more of the traits evolved later, so they go at the top or on the right. Less evolved organisms go at the bottom or left side of the cladogram.

How do you make a cladogram? C. Draw your cladogram. It is assumed that organisms with more of the traits evolved later, so they go at the top or on the right. Less evolved organisms go at the bottom or left side of the cladogram. TIGER HUMANS FROGS CATFISH SLUGS

How do you make a cladogram? C. Draw your cladogram. It is assumed that organisms with more of the traits evolved later, so they go at the top or on the right. Less evolved organisms go at the bottom or left side of the cladogram. TIGER HUMANS FROGS CATFISH SLUGS

How do you make a cladogram? D. Then add in when the different traits most likely evolved. TIGER HUMANS FROGS CATFISH SLUGS CELLS

How do you make a cladogram? D. Then add in when the different traits most likely evolved. TIGER HUMANS FROGS CATFISH SLUGS BACKBONE CELLS

How do you make a cladogram? D. Then add in when the different traits most likely evolved. TIGER HUMANS FROGS CATFISH SLUGS LEGS BACKBONE CELLS

How do you make a cladogram? D. Then add in when the different traits most likely evolved. TIGER HUMANS FROGS CATFISH HAIR SLUGS LEGS BACKBONE CELLS

How do you make a cladogram? D. Then add in when the different traits most likely evolved. TIGER HUMANS FROGS THUMBS CATFISH HAIR SLUGS LEGS BACKBONE CELLS

How do you make a cladogram? D. Then add in when the different traits most likely evolved. TIGER HUMANS FROGS THUMBS CATFISH HAIR SLUGS LEGS BACKBONE CELLS

1 D 2 C 3 B 4 A 5

Out-group any taxon which is hypothesized to be less closely related to each of the taxa under consideration than any are to each other.

In-group the set of taxa which are hypothesized to be more closely related to each other than any are to the outgroup.

Monophyletic taxon A monophyletic taxon is also called a clade. A group composed of a collection of organisms, including the most recent common ancestor of all those organisms and all the descendants of that most recent common ancestor.   A monophyletic taxon is also called a clade.

Monophyletic taxon

Paraphyletic taxon  A group composed of a collection of organisms, including the most recent common ancestor of all those organisms.   Unlike a monophyletic group, a paraphyletic taxon does not include all the descendants of the most recent common ancestor.

Paraphyletic taxon

Polyphyletic taxon A group composed of a collection of organisms in which the most recent common ancestor of all the included organisms is not included, usually because the common ancestor lacks the characteristics of the group.

Polyphyletic taxon