Clade

A clade is group of organisms which share a common ancestor and which includes all decendents of that ancestor. Taxonomy which requires all taxa to be clades is called cladistics. A clade may or may not conform to an existing taxon. A clade is thus a monophyletic group of organisms. The term evolutionary grade is sometimes used for groups of related organisms that don't include all decendents of their common ancestor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The PhyloCode is an attempt at a Code that will allow clades to get a formal name.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Organisms: REDIRECT organism...

Taxonomy: Taxonomy (from Greek ταξινομία (taxinomia) from the words taxis = order and nomos = law) may refer to either the classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. Almost anything, animate objects, inanimate objects, places, and ev...

Cladistics: Cladistics (Greek: clados = branch) is the most prominent of several methods of phylogenetic systematics (Greek: phyle = tribe, race and genetikos = relative to birth, from genesis = birth). Phylogenetic systematics occupies itself by researching evolutionary relationships, by descent, of living thi...