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Phylogeny exam

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  • Taxonomy
    The science of classifying organisms based on shared characteristics and evolutionary relationships.
  • What is phylogeny?
    The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms.
  • Domain
    The highest taxonomic rank in the hierarchical classification of organisms.
  • What are the three domains of life?
    Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.
  • Homology
    Similarity between organisms due to shared ancestry.
  • What is analogy in evolutionary biology?
    Similarity between organisms due to convergent evolution, not shared ancestry.
  • Cladistics
    A method of classifying organisms based on common ancestry and evolutionary relationships.
  • What is a synapomorphy?
    A shared derived trait found in an ancestor and all of its descendants.
  • Outgroup
    A monophyletic group used as a reference point for the group being studied.
  • What is a monophyletic group?
    A group consisting of an ancestor and all of its descendants.
  • Paraphyletic group
    A group consisting of an ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendants.
  • What is a polyphyletic group?
    A group that includes various distantly related species but not their common ancestor.
  • Ancestral trait
    A character that existed in an ancestor.
  • What is a derived trait?
    A modified form of an ancestral trait not found in the ancestor.
  • Orthologous genes
    Homologous genes separated by a speciation event.
  • What are paralogous genes?
    Homologous genes that diverged after a gene duplication event.
  • Horizontal gene transfer
    The transfer of genes from one genome to another, common in prokaryotes.
  • What is vertical gene transfer?
    The transmission of genes from parent to offspring.
  • Homoplasy
    Analogous structures that arose independently.
  • What is convergent evolution?
    The process where unrelated organisms independently evolve similar traits.
  • Scientific name
    The genus and species name of an organism, italicized or underlined.
  • What is the correct format for writing a scientific name?
    Genus capitalized and species lowercase, both italicized or underlined.
  • Systematics
    The study of the relationships of organisms.
  • What is a phylogenetic tree?
    A branching diagram showing inferred evolutionary relationships between species.
  • Clade
    A group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all its descendants.
  • What is a symplesiomorphy?
    An ancestral trait shared by two or more descendant taxa.
  • Dear King Philip Came Over For Good Soup
    A mnemonic to remember the taxonomic hierarchy: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
  • What is the most inclusive taxonomic category?
    Domain.
  • What is the least inclusive taxonomic category?
    Species.