Pronunciation: FI-lo-gram

Etymology: Phylogram is derived from two Greek roots that mean race or tribe (fyli, φυλή) and that which is written or drawn (gramma, γράμμα).

A phylogram is a cladogram in which the branch length determines how long the clade will be drawn. Thus, the phylogram should give a visual image of how many changes have been made in the characters observed from the primitive state.

Consider the phylogram of the bacteria in the Anaplastaceae. The branch lengths are calibrated to show percent divergence from the ancestral form.

©2004 Y. Rikihisa

By Jack R. Holt. Last revised: 01/02/2009