Glossary

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.

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Related terms

apomorphy
A derived character state of a clade; a feature novel to a species and its descendants.
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.
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.
homologous
Exhibiting a a degree of similarity, e.g., in anatomical position, structure, function, or character that may suggest a shared ancestral or evolutionary origin.
monophyletic
Used in reference to a taxonomic group containing all descendants of a single, often hypothetical, common ancestor, often characterised by one or more synapomorphies. A clade is a monophyletic group.
nested
In cladistics, used to refer to a clade located within a larger clade.
parallel evolution
Development of similar forms or traits in related, but separate, species descending from the same ancestor, but occupying different clades.
paraphyletic
In phylogenetics, a paraphyletic taxon is, loosely, an artificial grouping that does not include all descendants from the common ancestor of its members; monophyletic group from which one or more of clades is omitted in order to form an additional group.
phylogenetic
Of or relating to phylogeny.
plesiomorphy
In cladistics, a character or trait shared by two or more taxonomic groups but derived from a remote or much earlier common ancestral form and therefore cannot be used to define a clade. Also known as an ancestral state and generally appears at the base level of a cladogram.

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