Difference between revisions of "Phylogeny"
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[[Image:Cladogram.gif|right|thumb|250px|A cladogram.]] | [[Image:Cladogram.gif|right|thumb|250px|A cladogram.]] | ||
| − | '''Phylogeny''' describes the relationships between groups of animals as understood by ancestor/descendant history, so that groups are linked together on the basis of the recency of common ancestry. | + | '''Phylogeny''' is a pseudo-scientific concept that describes the alleged relationships between groups of animals as understood by ancestor/descendant history, so that groups are linked together on the basis of the recency of their supposed common ancestry. According to some evolutionists this is assessed primarily by the recognition of shared derived characters. The pattern of evolutionary relationships within and between groups can be depicted in the form of a branching diagram called [[cladogram]]s, which are like genealogies of [[specie]]s. |
| − | + | Evolutionists often argue that not only is phylogeny important for understanding paleontology, but paleontology in turn allegedly contributes to phylogeny. Many groups of organisms are now extinct, and without their fossils we would not have as clear a picture of how modern life is interrelated. Despite this, Darwinists often fill in the gaps and extrapolate results to fit the preconceived picture they have already agreed upon. | |
[[Evolution|Evolutionist]] [[Ernst Haeckel]] is well known for his claim that "[[ontogeny]] recapitulates phylogeny," meaning that organisms pass through stages in development that mirror their evolutionary history. Though some of the drawings he produced as evidence of this claim were later found to be fraudulent, evolutionary biologists maintain that other evidence supports this conclusion, albeit not as strongly as Haeckel suspected. | [[Evolution|Evolutionist]] [[Ernst Haeckel]] is well known for his claim that "[[ontogeny]] recapitulates phylogeny," meaning that organisms pass through stages in development that mirror their evolutionary history. Though some of the drawings he produced as evidence of this claim were later found to be fraudulent, evolutionary biologists maintain that other evidence supports this conclusion, albeit not as strongly as Haeckel suspected. | ||
Revision as of 05:57, August 8, 2012
Phylogeny is a pseudo-scientific concept that describes the alleged relationships between groups of animals as understood by ancestor/descendant history, so that groups are linked together on the basis of the recency of their supposed common ancestry. According to some evolutionists this is assessed primarily by the recognition of shared derived characters. The pattern of evolutionary relationships within and between groups can be depicted in the form of a branching diagram called cladograms, which are like genealogies of species.
Evolutionists often argue that not only is phylogeny important for understanding paleontology, but paleontology in turn allegedly contributes to phylogeny. Many groups of organisms are now extinct, and without their fossils we would not have as clear a picture of how modern life is interrelated. Despite this, Darwinists often fill in the gaps and extrapolate results to fit the preconceived picture they have already agreed upon.
Evolutionist Ernst Haeckel is well known for his claim that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny," meaning that organisms pass through stages in development that mirror their evolutionary history. Though some of the drawings he produced as evidence of this claim were later found to be fraudulent, evolutionary biologists maintain that other evidence supports this conclusion, albeit not as strongly as Haeckel suspected.
Phylogenetics
Phylogenetics, the science of phylogeny, is one part of the larger field of systematics, which also includes taxonomy. Taxonomy is the science of naming and classifying the diversity of organisms.
Many problems in computational biology are inspired by work in phylogenetics and systematics, several of which have been shown to be NP-complete.