Biology
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Cladogram Construction and Vertebrate Phylogeny part of Cutting Edge:Paleontology:Activities
Students are given pictures of a variety of extant vertebrates. They work in groups to determine which animals are most closely related. Following a series of clicker questions and a discussion of the relationships, they place a subset of the animals on a cladogram. Finally, students add synapomorphies to the cladogram in order to justify their hypotheis.
Paleobiology and Paleontology part of Cutting Edge:Paleontology:Courses
Basic anatomy and morphology of common invertebrate fossils, methods of analysis, and applications to geologic dating and environmental reconstruction
Carabiner Cladogram part of Cutting Edge:Paleontology:Activities
A cladogram exercise involving hardware instead of organisms. Many students are familiar with carabiners and find them more interesting than nails and screws (the example I based this on). Using these characters, you can also make a phenogram, which is different than the cladogram.
