Phylogeny
A phylogeny is a proposal of how organisms are related by their evolutionary history.[1]p336 It is based on the evidence that all living things are related by common descent. The evidence for phylogeny comes from palaeontology, comparative anatomy, and DNA sequence analysis.
The main product of phylogenetics is a phylogenetic tree or tree of life. This is a diagram showing a pattern of ancestor/descendent relationships. Information may be related to geological periods or estimated dates. A biological classification is another type of product.
Phylogeny Media
An unrooted phylogenetic tree for myosin, a superfamily of proteins
Increase in the total number of phylogenetic trees as a function of the number of labeled leaves: unrooted binary trees (blue diamonds), rooted binary trees (red circles), and rooted multifurcating or binary trees (green: triangles). The Y-axis scale is logarithmic.
Dendrogram of the phylogeny of some dog breeds
A chronogram of Lepidoptera. In this phylogenetic tree type, branch lengths are proportional to geological time.
The Coral of Life
References
- ↑ King R.C. Stansfield W.D. & Mulligan P.K. 2006. A dictionary of genetics, 7th ed. Oxford.