Table 1.

Phylogenetic tree interpretations for taxa relatedness described in the literature

Interpretation	Brief description and references
Most recent common ancestry	Taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor are more closely related to each other than to another taxon.a–c, e, f, h, i, l, m, o, q, r
Monophyletic grouping	Taxa in the same monophyletic group are more closely related to each other than to a taxon outside the monophyletic group.d–f, l
Branch tip proximity	Taxa relatedness is determined by perceived distance between taxa on phylogenetic trees.a, b, d–f, g, h, l– n, p, q
Contemporary descent	Taxa relatedness is determined by indicating a taxon is descended from another extant taxon.a, b, d–f, g, h, j, l, o, p
Counting nodes	Taxa relatedness is determined by counting nodes or branches between taxa on phylogenetic trees.d–f, g, h, m, p
External insights	Taxa relatedness is determined by knowledge that is not provided by phylogenetic trees.a, b, d–f, j, k, m, r

Italics indicate correct phylogenetic tree interpretations for taxa relatedness.

^aBaum et al., 2005.

^bBaum and Offner, 2008.

^cCollege Board, 2012.

^dGregory, 2008.

^eHalverson, 2011.

^fHalverson et al., 2011.

^gMeir et al., 2007.

^hMeisel, 2010.

ⁱMorabito et al., 2010.

^jNovick and Catley, 2007.

^kNovick et al., 2010.

^lNovick et al., 2011.

^mNovick and Catley, 2013.

ⁿNovick et al., 2012.

^oOmland et al., 2008.

^pPerry et al., 2008.

^qSandvik, 2008.

^rSmith et al., 2013.