What are the characteristics of a phylogenetic tree?
A phylogenetic tree may be built using morphological (body shape), biochemical, behavioral, or molecular features of species or other groups. In building a tree, we organize species into nested groups based on shared derived traits (traits different from those of the group’s ancestor).
What characters are useful in constructing phylogenetic trees?
The order of groups along the tips of a phylogenetic tree indicates how closely those groups are related. Only homologous characters are useful in constructing phylogenetic trees.
What is a phylogenetic tree explain how it is constructed?
Phylogenetic trees are constructed using various data derived from studies on homologous traits, analagous traits, and molecular evidence that can be used to establish relationships using polymeric molecules ( DNA, RNA, and proteins ).
How many genus are there in Canidae?
Classification. The family Canidae consists of 37 extant species belonging to 12 genera and divided into 194 extant subspecies, as well the extinct genus Dusicyon, comprising two extinct species, and 13 extinct wolf subspecies, which are the only canid species to go extinct since prehistoric times.
What is a phylogenetic tree worksheet?
It is a diagram that depicts evolutionary relationships among groups. It is based on PHYLOGENY, which is the study of evolutionary relationships. Sometimes a cladogram is called a phylogenetic tree (though technically, there are minor differences between the two).
What are the families under order Carnivora?
The order Carnivora includes 12 families, 9 of which live on land: Canidae (dogs and related species), Felidae (cats), Ursidae (bears), Procyonidae (raccoons and related species), Mustelidae (weasels, badgers, otters, and related species), Mephitidae (skunks and stink badgers), Herpestidae (mongooses), Viverridae ( …
What are the characteristics of the family Felidae?
The family Felidae consists of at least 36 wild cat species. These felids are morphologically similar with rounded, flat faces, facial whiskers, large eyes, and large ears. They have the widest range of body sizes of all living carnivore families, weighing 1 kilogram (kg) to 300 kg.
What are the characteristics of carnivores?
Characteristics commonly associated with carnivores include strength, speed, and keen senses for hunting, as well as teeth and claws for capturing and tearing prey.
What is the difference between Felidae and Canidae?
As their looks depict, felids are proud creatures with a unique combination of behaviors including intimidating roars in big cats. Canines are members of the taxonomic order Canidae, which includes dogs and other dog-like creatures such as jackals, foxes, coyotes, and wolves.
How do you build a phylogenetic tree?
A phylogenetic tree may be built using morphological (body shape), biochemical, behavioral, or molecular features of species or other groups. In building a tree, we organize species into nested groups based on shared derived traits (traits different from those of the group’s ancestor).
How are shared derived traits used in phylogenetic trees?
As shown above, shared derived traits tend to form nested patterns that provide information about when branching events occurred in the evolution of the species. When we are building a phylogenetic tree from a dataset, our goal is to use shared derived traits in present-day species to infer the branching pattern of their evolutionary history.
Are deep phylogenetic relationships between living canid genera possible?
Despite ongoing efforts relying on computationally intensive tree-building methods and large datasets, the deeper phylogenetic relationships between living canid genera remain controversial.
What is the evolutionary history of the Canidae?
The Canidae consists of a group of species with a relatively recent evolutionary history and estimated divergence times between 0.3 and 12 MYA ( Bininda-Emonds et al., 1999, Wayne et al., 1991 ). Although mitochondrial genes have the advantage of evolving rapidly, they essentially provide a single gene genealogy.