Fig. 3From: Mammalian organogenesis in deep time: tools for teaching and outreachPhylogenetic framework of the species for which developmental series are provided in the Additional file 1. Many natural history museums still depict evolutionary patterns as ‘orthogenetic’, and thus as a linear and directed sequence from ancestor to descendant, including even the classic example of horses [discussed by MacFadden et al. (2012)]. This kind of representation is wrong, as the pattern is actually a branching one. This mistake communicates antiquated knowledge and perpetuates misconceptions about evolution. People tend to see evolution as a story with a beginning, middle, and an end [discussed by Baum and Smith (2012)]. Phylogenetic trees challenge this view, showing a branching and fractal pattern instead of linearity, and with one beginning and many endsBack to article page