What is monophyly?
Q: What is monophyly?
A: Monophyly is the concept of common descent from a single ancestor.
Q: What is cladistics?
A: Cladistics is a kind of taxonomy introduced by biologists to make biological classification fit what we know about the way organisms evolved.
Q: What is a monophyletic group?
A: A monophyletic group consists of a common ancestor and all its descendants.
Q: What is polyphyletic group?
A: A polyphyletic group consists of organisms without their common ancestor, usually caused by convergent evolution.
Q: What is paraphyletic group?
A: A paraphyletic group contains the common ancestor but leaves out some of its descendants.
Q: Are all living things on this planet thought to be monophyletic?
A: Yes, according to DNA analysis, all living things on this planet are thought to be monophyletic, that is, to have one origin, not many.
Q: Can you give an example of a polyphyletic group?
A: An example of a polyphytic group would be sea slugs.
