Classifying by Evolutionary Relationship
- Historically organisms would have been classified on the basis of morphology, which often led to organisms being classified into groups that were not all close relatives
- The development of DNA sequencing technology means that classification can now be carried out on the basis of evolutionary relationship
- Organisms grouped together using this method of classification form groups known as clades; every member of a clade shares a recent common ancestor
- A common ancestor is a shared ancestor, e.g.
- The most recent common ancestor of siblings is their parents
- The most recent common ancestor of cousins is their grandparents
- A common ancestor is a shared ancestor, e.g.
- Clades are monophyletic groups, meaning that they contain all of the descendants of a common ancestor
- Organisms grouped together using this method of classification form groups known as clades; every member of a clade shares a recent common ancestor
Advantages of classification by evolutionary relationship
- Classifying organisms correctly according to their clade ensures that groups of organisms are close evolutionary relatives rather than arbitrary groups that happen to look similar
- The characteristics within a clade are often inherited from a common ancestor, so are likely to be shared
- This means that scientists need to be careful not to accidentally place organisms together on the basis of analogous characteristics; not all species with shared characteristics are closely related
- The characteristics within a clade are often inherited from a common ancestor, so are likely to be shared
- The use of DNA sequencing has allowed some organisms to be reclassified into more accurate groups
- Some species have been reclassified into different groups of organisms
- Some groups of organisms have been split
- Some groups have been merged