phylogenetic tree
Phylogenetic Trees Scientists use a tool called a phylogenetic tree to show the evolutionary pathways and connections among organisms. A phylogenetic tree is a diagram used to reflect evolutionary relationships among organisms or groups of organisms. Scientists consider phylogenetic trees to be a hypothesis of the evolutionary past since one cannot go back to confirm the proposed relationships. In other words, a tree of life can be constructed to illustrate when different organisms evolved and to show the relationships among different organisms Figure 20.2 . Unlike a taxonomic classification diagram, a phylogenetic tree can be read like a map of evolutionary history. Many phylogenetic trees have a single lineage at the base representing a common ancestor. Scientists call such trees rooted, which means there is a single ancestral lineage typically drawn from the bottom or left to which all organisms represented in the diagram relate. Notice in the rooted phylogenetic tree that the three domains Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryadiverge from a single point and branch off. The small branch that plants and animals including humans occupy in this diagram shows how recent and miniscule these groups are compared with other organisms. Unrooted trees dont show a common ancestor but do show relationships among species.