What do phylogenetic trees illustrate? These diagrams don't just organize knowledge of biodiversity - they also show us that living species are the summation of their evolutionary history. Trait ...

Evolution, Vol. 72, No. 5 (MAY 2018), pp. 1050-1062 (13 pages) Variation in rates of molecular evolution (heterotachy) is a common phenomenon among plants. Although multiple theoretical models have ...

Play NOVA's Evolution Lab to explore the tree of life and become an expert in phylogenetics—the study of the evolutionary relationships among species. Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and ...

The placoderms were a diverse group of ancient armoured fishes and it’s widely believed that they are ancestral to virtually all vertebrates alive today, including humans. Placoderms dominated aquatic ...

Honeycreepers, small birds inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands, have a rich assortment of beak shapes. Some species have long, thin beaks suited to plucking insects from leaves. Others possess thick beaks ...