Building Phylogenetic Trees
9th Grade · Science · 60 min
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Learning Objective
I can construct a phylogenetic tree to represent evolutionary relationships.
- 1
A phylogenetic tree shows how different species evolved from common ancestors based on observable traits and molecular evidence.
- 2
The outgroup, like the lamprey in this example, is the species that is most different and whose common ancestor is most distant in the past.
- 3
When constructing a phylogenetic tree, biologists use parsimony to find the simplest explanation for the observed traits and relationships among species.
