What is the Difference Between Monophyletic Paraphyletic and Polyphyletic?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The terms monophyletic, paraphyletic, and polyphyletic are used in the classification of organisms to describe the evolutionary relationships between them. They are based on the concept of a taxon, which is a group of organisms that share a common ancestor. The key differences between these terms are as follows:
- Monophyletic: A monophyletic group, also known as a clade, consists of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. In other words, a monophyletic group includes all the organisms that descended from a single common ancestor. Monophyletic groups are defined by shared derived characteristics that are unique to the group.
- Paraphyletic: A paraphyletic group includes a common ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendants. This means that the group consists of a common ancestor and a subset of its descendants, but not all the descendants are included in the group.
- Polyphyletic: A polyphyletic group is composed of organisms that do not share a recent common ancestor. Instead, these organisms have converged on a similar characteristic or trait, but they do not share a common ancestor that would group them together via monophyletic or paraphyletic relationships.
In summary:
- Monophyletic groups include all descendants of a single common ancestor.
- Paraphyletic groups include some, but not all, descendants of a common ancestor.
- Polyphyletic groups consist of organisms that do not share a recent common ancestor but have converged on a similar characteristic.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between Monophyletic Paraphyletic and Polyphyletic? Comparative Table: Monophyletic Paraphyletic vs Polyphyletic
Comparative Table: Monophyletic Paraphyletic vs Polyphyletic
Here is a table that compares the differences between monophyletic, paraphyletic, and polyphyletic groups:
Characteristic | Monophyletic | Paraphyletic | Polyphyletic |
---|---|---|---|
Definition | A group that consists of the most recent common ancestor and all of its descendants. | A group that consists of the most recent common ancestor and some of its descendants. | A group that consists of unrelated organisms that are descended from more than one ancestor. |
Ancestry | Includes all descendants of a common ancestor. | Includes some, but not all, descendants of a common ancestor. | Organisms are descended from multiple ancestors. |
Evolutionary History | Represents a complete and unique evolutionary history. | Represents an incomplete evolutionary history, as it excludes some descendants of the common ancestor. | Does not represent a true evolutionary history, as organisms have converged on similar characteristics independently. |
Taxonomic Classification | Monophyletic groups are the only taxonomically and systematically viable ones, as they represent evolutionary history. | Paraphyletic groups are not as taxonomically viable, as they do not include all descendants of the common ancestor. | Polyphyletic groups are not taxonomically viable, as they do not represent a true evolutionary history. |
All three terms are used to define taxa of organisms and describe the relationship between different organisms based on their evolutionary history.
Read more:
- Taxonomy vs Phylogeny
- Cladogram vs Phylogenetic Tree
- Ontogeny vs Phylogeny
- Artificial Natural vs Phylogenetic System of Classification
- Allochthonous Autochthonous vs Parautochthonous
- Monogenic vs Polygenic Inheritance
- Homoplasy vs Homology
- Convergent vs Divergent Evolution
- Parapatric vs Sympatric Speciation
- Synapomorphy vs Symplesiomorphy
- Apomorphy vs Plesiomorphy
- Anagenesis vs Cladogenesis
- Diploblastic vs Triploblastic
- Rooted vs Unrooted Phylogenetic Tree
- Monotheism vs Polytheism
- Phenetics vs Cladistics
- Polygenic Inheritance vs Pleiotropy
- Orthologous vs Paralogous Genes
- Monogamy vs Polygamy