Monophyly

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CLADISTICS

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Monophyly

Monophyly refers to any taxon that includes the most recent common ancestor of all those organisms, and all the descendants of that common ancestor. A Monophyletic taxon, or clade, is the building block of the cladistic system of taxonomy and phylogeny. Monophyletic groups are discovered (but not defined) by synapomorphies.

Examples: Insects, Vertebrates, Mammalia, Angiosperms, etc, etc.

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