Posted by:
apeltes
at Wed Oct 1 12:22:03 2008 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by apeltes ]
I have read many posts here about how paraphyletic clades are valid, but Cladists are trying to get rid of them. I thought I'd start by making sure I know what a paraphyletic clade is.
Here's what I've learned. It seems pretty easy. All you have to do is:
1)Choose a bunch of organisms you percieve to be similar and put them in a group together (Reptiles: turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and tuataras)
2)Identify the nearest common ancestor and define your group with synaplesiomorphies (e.g., flat scales and endothermy)
3)Justify the removal of the other descendants of the same common ancestor by identifying apomorphies that are inappropriate for the group you created.
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RE: Polyphyletic - apeltes, Wed Oct 1 12:22:03 2008