clade

Also known as monophyletic group, monophyletic taxon, evolutionary clade

thumb|400px| Cladogram (a branching tree diagram) illustrating the relationships of organisms within groups of taxa known as clades. The vertical line (stem) at the base (bottom) represents the [[last common ancestor. The blue and red subgroups are clades, each defined by a common ancestor stem at the base of its respective subgroup (branch). The green subgroup alone, however, is not a clade; it is a paraphyletic group relative to the blue subgroup because it excludes the blue branch, which shares the same common ancestor. Together, the green and blue subgroups form a clade.]]

AI overview

A clade is a group of organisms that includes a common ancestor and all of its descendants, shown as branches on a tree diagram. Scientists use clades to understand evolutionary relationships because they reveal which species are most closely related by shared ancestry.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Cladogram Crocodilia NL.PNG

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~9 min read

Article

12 sections

Contents

Naming and etymology
History of nomenclature and taxonomy
Definition
Clades and phylogenetic trees
Terminology
Age
Viruses
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

In biology, a clade () (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy adopted by most biological fields.