What is parsimony in cladistics?

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What is parsimony in cladistics?

Common Descent:

Common descent is one of the pillars of modern evolutionary theory. It posits that all the living organisms that are present on the planet today are descendants of a single celled common ancestor and they are thus all related to each other.

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Parsimony is the principle of constructing the simplest possible phylogenetic trees in cladistics. A phylogenetic tree is a diagram which shows the...

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Classification Systems: Classical Taxonomy, Phenetics & Cladistics

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Chapter 21 / Lesson 4
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To better understand how living organisms are related, scientists have developed classification systems, with the oldest being classical taxonomy. Learn more about classical taxonomy and how its potential for subjectivity led to the development of classification systems focused on phenetics and cladistics.


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