Glossary

basal

At, towards or constituting a base; primitive. Opposite of derived. In cladistics, used to in reference to a clade within which other clades are nested.

Used in 92 species profiles

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Related terms

basipterygium
Basal bone or cartilage located at the base of the paired fins in some fishes.
clade
A group of organisms sharing homologous features, believed to have evolved from a common ancestor following the principles of cladistics; a monophyletic group; a grouping hypothesised on the basis of phylogenetic information.
cladistics
Taxonomical method used to classify species of organisms into clades, each of which contains an ancestor organism and all its descendants, based on synapomorphies (shared derived characters). Cladistic classifications are usually presented in the form of a cladogram.
derived
Used in phylogenetics in reference to a character or character state not present in the ancestral form of a species; apomorphic.
nested
In cladistics, used to refer to a clade located within a larger clade.

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