Fig. 4

Evolutionary trees can be presented in a variety of ways. This figure shows six common approaches to depicting evolutionary relationships using rooted trees. The two most common types, diagonal and rectangular, are shown at the top, but any of these may be encountered in the scientific literature or textbooks. In all six trees, the pattern of branching and relatedness is identical—for example, F + C and E + D are pairs of sister taxa, whereas A is the outgroup—and therefore all six are exactly equivalent. The reader is encouraged to confirm that the pattern of branching is the same in all six trees