Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A grouping of organisms made on the basis of their presumed evolutionary history, consisting of a common ancestor and all of its descendants.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biology, systematics A group of animals or other organisms derived from a common ancestor species.
  • noun genetics A higher level grouping of a genetic haplogroup.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a group of biological taxa or species that share features inherited from a common ancestor

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Greek klados, branch.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek κλάδος ("shoot, branch").

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Examples

  • By definition, a clade is a group composed of a single ancestor and all its descendants.

    A New Book 2010

  • By definition, a clade is a group composed of a single ancestor and all its descendants.

    A New Book 2010

  • In cladistics, the clade is a hypothetical construct based on experimental data.

    About 'What Darwin Got Wrong' 2010

  • A clade is a parent and * all* of its descendents.

    A Disclaimer for Behe? 2009

  • A clade is a group, consisting of a single organism and all of its descendants.

    A Disclaimer for Behe? 2009

  • Understanding Evolution: A clade is a grouping that includes a common ancestor and all the descendents (living and extinct) of that ancestor … Clades are nested within one another — they form a nested hierarchy.

    A Disclaimer for Behe? 2009

  • A clade is an ancestor species and all of its descendants

    A Disclaimer for Behe? 2009

  • A clade is a common ancestor and all its descendents.

    A Disclaimer for Behe? 2009

  • If we look at the definition of clade - A clade is a group, consisting of a single organism and all of its descendants. - my premise is correct as aves are a descendent of reptiles - that is if we go by the cladogram …

    A Disclaimer for Behe? 2009

  • A clade is a group, consisting of a single organism and all of its descendants.

    A Disclaimer for Behe? 2009

Comments

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  • The problem with the concept "clade" is thqt groups of "animals or other organisms derived from a common ancestor species" (the first definition above) are not consistent with groups of"animals that share features inherited from a common ancestor" (the third definition above). The problem is thus that the concept "clade" is internally inconsistent, that is, contradictory. Such things simply can't be found (non-contradictory).

    November 19, 2011

  • Perhaps the terms "derived from" and "inherited from" are problematical. The former, "derived from" suggests the bugbear (to some) evolution. The latter, "inherited from" seems less problematical because most people accept the principle(s) of inheritance. I don't see much contradiction.

    November 20, 2011

  • The problem is that two 'definitions' found on the Internet are mutually inconsistent. That's got nothing to do with what a clade is. Clades are defined by descent; there's no actual need for any two members of a clade to share any particular inheritance. A clade is a species together with all its descendants.

    November 21, 2011

  • One definition is based on the method of analysis that produces the branching diagram (tree), the other is based on the way the tree is converted into a classification. The cladistic method identifies characters that are shared by groups (features inherited from a common ancestor), but some of those characters might be lost in some members of the group. The cladistic method also says that given a particular tree topology, the only groups that should be recognized are those that can be removed from the tree with a single cut (which gives an ancestor and all its descendants, i.e., a monophyletic group).

    November 22, 2011