This diagram is an example of a simple phylogenetic tree. In most cases, researchers draw phylogenetic trees in such a way as to record only those events that are relevant to a set of living taxa.

Journal of the New York Entomological So... Journal of the New York Entomological Society Vol. 31, No. 2, Jun., 1923 A Phylogenetic Comparison of the Maxillæ... A Phylogenetic Comparison of the ...

Thus, understanding the evolutionary history of living species amounts to understanding where on the tree of life these species' distinctive traits arose. Moreover, phylogenetic trees serve as ...