Question

Explain in a short essay the principles of phylogenetics.

Answer 1

Phylogenetic principle is an evolutionary principle. It classifies according to how recently they share a common ancestor. Two species that share a more recent common ancestor will be put in a group of at a lower level than two species sharing a more distant common ancestor. As the common ancestors of two species become more and more distant, they are grouped further and further apart in the classification. In the end,all the species are contained in the category the set of all living things which contains all the descendants of the most distant common ancestor of life. Cladism and evolutionary classification are the two taxonomic schools which makes use of the phylogenetic principle to differing degrees. The phylogenetic principle is the most effective way of classifying species.