cladistic analysis
nounUK /kləˈdɪstɪk əˈnæləsɪs/
US /kləˈdɪstɪk əˈnæləsɪs/
A way of studying how living things are related by looking at shared features.
The scientists used cladistic analysis to figure out which dinosaurs were closest cousins.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A method that groups organisms only by shared derived traits.
Cladistic analysis placed the new species in a separate branch of the family tree.
3. The process of building a branching diagram to show evolutionary relationships.
Her thesis applied cladistic analysis to a family of beetles.
4. A technique for testing which features evolved most recently.
Cladistic analysis showed that the wings evolved after the legs.