I don’t think I was ever taught about clades and I am confused by them. Are they there to challenge the hierarchy of Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, etc. etc. or are they something else? Have they replaced any of those D.,K.,P., C., O., F., G., S.? Should I italicize clades?
Please help. Thanks!
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A clade is a group of organisms that is composed of all of the descendants of the group’s common ancestor.
So, for example, you, all of your siblings form a clade because you all share common ancestor, your parents, and every descendant of them is in the group.
Another clade would be you, all of your siblings and all of your cousins, because you all share the same grandparents. But the group of you and your cousins, but not your siblings isn’t a clade, because there are descendants that are excluded.
An order, phylum, etc. is usually a clade, but not always because some categories were made before the evolutionary history of the organisms was understood. Though as we learn more, scientists re-categorize organisms.
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