ANT 301 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Evolutionary Taxonomy, Cladistics, Living Dinosaur
Document Summary
Classification- in biology, the ordering of organisms into categories, such as orders, families, and genera, to show evolutionary relationships. Chordata- the phylum of the animal kingdom that includes vertebrates. Vertebrates- animals with segmented, bony spinal columns; includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles (including birds), and mammals. Like a musical score with a basic theme, small variations on the pattern can produce the different tunes that differentiate one organism from another. This is the essential genetic foundation for most macro-evolutionary change. Homologies- similarities between organisms based on descent from a common ancestor. Analogies- similarities between organisms based strictly on common function with no assumed common evolutionary descent. Homoplasy- the separate evolutionary development of similar characteristics in different groups of organisms. Evolutionary systematics: a traditional approach to classification and evolutionary interpretation in which presumed ancestors and descendants are traced in time by analysis of homologous characters.
