Usual methods of phylogenetic inference involve computational approaches implementing the optimality criteria and methods of parsimony, maximum likelihood (ML), and MCMC-based Bayesian inference.All these depend upon an implicit or explicit mathematical model describing the evolution of characters observed.. Phenetics, popular in the mid-20th century but now …

History. The idea of a "tree of life" arose from ancient notions of a ladder-like progression from lower into higher forms of life (such as in the Great Chain of Being).Early representations of "branching" phylogenetic trees include a "paleontological chart" showing the geological relationships among plants and animals in the book Elementary Geology, by Edward Hitchcock …

Tree inference and visualization (hierarchical, radial and axial tree views), Horizontal gene transfer detection and HGT network visualization TidyTree A client-side HTML5/SVG Phylogenetic Tree Renderer, based on D3.js: TreeVector scalable, interactive, phylogenetic trees for the web, produces dynamic SVG or PNG output, implemented in Java

In phylogenetics, maximum parsimony is an optimality criterion under which the phylogenetic tree that minimizes the total number of character-state changes (or miminizes the cost of differentially weighted character-state changes) is preferred. Under the maximum-parsimony criterion, the optimal tree will minimize the amount of homoplasy (i.e., convergent evolution, …

A cladogram (from Greek clados "branch" and gramma "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show how much they have changed, so many differing evolutionary trees can be consistent with the same …

Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. All living beings are in fact descendants of a unique ancestor commonly referred to as the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all life on Earth, according to modern evolutionary biology.. Common descent is an effect of speciation, in …

Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy.The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic …

Het is onomstreden dat vogels behoren tot de groep van Archosauria, waar ook de krokodillen, dinosauriërs en wellicht de pterosauriërs deel van uitmaken. De meest gangbare huidige theorie zoekt de directe voorouders van de vogels onder de kleinere vleesetende theropode dinosauriërs. Deze theorie was een van de eerste die opgesteld werd — bijna onmiddellijk nadat de …

Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor (Latin: novacula Occami), also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony (Latin: lex parsimoniae), is the problem-solving principle that "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity". It is generally understood in the sense that with competing theories or explanations, the simpler one, for example a model with …

The relationship between clades can be described in several ways: A clade located within a clade is said to be nested within that clade. In the diagram, the hominoid clade, i.e. the apes and humans, is nested within the primate clade.; Two clades are sisters if they have an immediate common ancestor. In the diagram, lemurs and lorises are sister clades, while humans and …