User:Israel.tharpe/Primitive (phylogenetics)

The below section should go below the second paragraph at the start of the wiki page

Phylogenetics is utilized to determine evolutionary relationships and relatedness, to ultimately depict accurate evolutionary lineages. Evolutionary relatedness between living species can be connected by descent from common ancestry. These evolutionary lineages can thereby be portrayed through a phylogenetic tree, or cladogram, where varying relatedness amongst species is evidently depicted. Through this tree, organisms can be categorized by divergence from the common ancestor, and primitive characters, to clades of organisms with shared derived character states. Furthermore, cladograms allow researchers to view the changes and evolutionary alterations occurring in a species over time as they move from primitive characters to varying derived character states.

The below section is to go on the wiki page on the usage or primitiveness of characters determined by context section, could just add it under the usage section and rename the section usage and distinctions possibly

The amount of variation of characters can assist in depicting greater relatedness amongst species, and conversely show the lack of relatedness between species. Analysis of character variation also aids in distinguishing primitive characters from derived characters. The term derived and primitive, or ancestral, is used in reference to characters and character state. In doing so, a derived character is depicted as a character procured through evolution from the previous ancestral state, and persisting due to fixation of derived alleles. Whereas, a primitive character is one that is originally present in the ancestral population. Primitive characters are avoided as they depict the ancestral character state. Conversely, derived characters depict the alteration of characters from the ancestral state because selection favored organisms with that derived trait.