cladistics
nounUK /kləˈdɪstɪks/
US /kləˈdɪstɪks/
A way of grouping living things by looking at which ones share the most recent ancestors.
Scientists used cladistics to figure out which dinosaurs were closest cousins.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A method in biology that sorts organisms into groups called clades based on shared traits inherited from a common ancestor.
In cladistics, birds are placed inside the dinosaur group because they share a recent ancestor.
3. The study of branching patterns in family trees of living things.
Her class on cladistics focused on drawing family trees for mammals.
4. A school of thought in systematics that insists groups must include all descendants of a common ancestor.
Cladistics rejects groups that leave out some descendants, like reptiles that exclude birds.