Question

What is an evolutionary tree? Is there a precise evolutionary tree that explains the emergence and origin of every type of living organisms?

Answer 1

A tree diagram that shows a pattern of evolution of a group of an organism based on their genetic of phenotypic characters with respect to the time is called phylogenetic tree. It is also called evolutionary tree and it explains the evolutionary interactions and how organisms evolved from a common ancestor. There are different types are trees can be constructed based on the phylogenetic data. Types of trees include:

• Unrooted tree
• Rooted tree
• Bifurcating tree
• Cladogram
• Dendrogram, etc

Cladistic analysis or cladograms: In this, the organisms are classified based on the similarities between the history of evolution. Relatedness between the organisms is established by common features of phylogeny by means of advanced computer technology. This method allows the quick sorting of organisms based on their shared evolutionary structures with the other organisms.