09/21 Reading Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is taxonomy?
Scientific discipline of how organisms are named and classified
A binomial is?
Two-part format of the scientific name
What is a genus?
First part of a binomial
What is the second part of a binomial?
A specific epithet
What are the categories of classifiation?
Genus - Family- Orders- Classes- Phyla- Kingdoms- Domains
A taxon is?
The taxonomic units at any level
Phylogenetic Tree
Shows the evolutionary history of a group of organisms
What does a branch point tell us?
The common ancestor of two evolutionary lineages
What are sister taxa?
Groups of organisms that share an immediate common ancestor that is not shared by any other group
What does it mean for the tree to be rooted?
The branch point within the tree represents the most recent common ancestor of all taxa
What is a basal taxon?
A lineage that diverges from all other member of its group early in history
What is are homologies?
Phenotypic and genetic similarities due to shared ancestry
What is an analogy?
Similarity between organisms caused by convergent evolution
What are othologous genes?
Homology is the result of a speciation event
What are paralogous genes?
Homology results from gene duplication
What are homologous structures?
Body parts that represent variations on a structural theme that was present in their common ancestor
Vestigial structures are?
Remnants of features that served a function in the organism’s ancestors
What is convergent evolution?
The independent evolution of similar features in different lineages
What does it mean when the resemblance is said to be analogous?
Species share features because of convergent evolution
What is biogeography?
The scientific study of the geographic distributions of species
What does if mean when a species is endemic?
It’s found nowhere else in the world
