the kind of analysis that focuses on the evolution of derived characteristics
Cladistics Cladistics (/kləˈdɪstɪks/, from Greek κλάδος, cládos, "branch")[1] is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on the most recent common ancestor. Hypothesized relationships are typically based on shared derived characteristics (synapomorphies) that can be traced to the most recent common ancestor and are not present in more distant groups and ancestors. A key feature of a clade is that all descendants stay in their overarching ancestral clade. For example, if within a cladistic framework the terms monkeys/anthropoidea, animals, fishes/vertebrata and worms/bilateria would be used, these terms would include humans. Radiation results in the generation of new subclades by bifurcation.[2][3][4][5]