character
quantifiable, heritable characteristic or trait
clade
a group whose members share one or more defining derived traits
cladistics
method of making hypotheses about evolutionary relationships among clades
cladogram
evolutionary tree diagram that shows evolutionary relationships among clades
derived trait
a novel trait present in a clade but not in the clades ancestors
evolutionary tree
diagram showing evolutionary relationships
monophyletic group
an ancestor in which a derived trait evolved, together with all of its descendants
sister groups
the two lineages that emerge from a node on a cladogram
analogous structures
similar body structures that evolved separately in different lineages
homologous structures
body parts or structures that are similar in different lineages because they evolved in a common ancestor
morphological convergence
evolutionary pattern in which similar body parts evolve separately in different lineages
morphological divergence
evolutionary pattern in which a body part of an ancestor changes in its descendants
molecular clock
using molecular change to estimate how long ago two lineages diverged