BIOL 2P92 Lecture 1 Notes

Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Animals (Chapter 4)

Carlos Linnaeus created taxonomical basis of phylogeny
Taxonomy
Table 4.1
Focus is on Animalia, with a little bit on Protozoa
35 Different Phyla of Animals
o Human, Gorilla, Southern Leapord Frog all belong to same phylum of Chordata
Subphylum further divides organisms (vertebrates, uniramia)
Class, Subclass
Order
o Primates (Humans, Gorilla)
At lower levels, there are different types of differences between orders and respective phyla
Family always ends with idae
Sub Family always ends with inae
Genus
Species
Subspecies sometimes there are recognized groups within the same species
Animals within same taxonomic hierarchy should be more closely related than those from
different taxonomical hierarchies.
Phylogeny
Family tree of varying lengths
Series of tips
Has a root
Represents evolutionary time and relationships
Wherever lines join up, there is a common ancestor
An OUTGROUP represents and evolutionary split between the group of interest
(INGROUP) and the rest of its lineage
o Ingroup is the group interested in understanding
o Outgroup is the group one uses as a reference point for comparison to understand the in
group (NOT THE ANCESTOR, but rather a good guess of a close one).
Blue lines represents branching pattern
Shared Derived Trait: a trait common within previous organisms of the same lineage
o Ex: Monkey, Horse, Lizard all have Vertebrae
If interest was in mammals (Horse, Monkey), then Lizard can be used as the outgroup

*Figure 4.5*
 Clade: A Branch
Monophyletic all of the descendants and their common ancestor
Paraphyletic includes all common ancestors, but NOT all the descendants
Polyphyletic includes many of the descendants, but NOT the common ancestors
o Usually occurs when you have misrecognized something
Figure 4.4
What kinds of groups?
o Mammals Monophyletic
o Birds Monophyletic
o Reptiles Paraphyletic
o Homeotherms (warm-blooded) Para/Polyphyletic
What is sister group?
o Kangaroos
Taxonomy should reflect PHYLOGENY. Groups should be monophyletic
Hominidae = monophyletic family grouping
Homininae = monophyletic sub family including all extinct and modern Homo
Microevolution and Speciation
Microevolution - the gradual accumulation of mutations and changes in allele
frequencies over time
Eventually, the accumulated changes result in reproductive incompatibility between
descendant lineages
Speciation process by which single species splits into lineages that eventually become
genetically distinct species