6 Lonely Branches on the Tree of Life

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When there’s only one species on an evolutionary branch, we call it a monospecific taxon. Studying these special species can help us better understand not just those sparse groups, but all life on this planet.

Hosted by: Olivia Gordon

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Sources:
Homo sapiens
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13621
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4630
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01660.x
https://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/brains
https://theconversation.com/were-other-humans-the-first-victims-of-the-sixth-mass-extinction-126638
Welwitschia mirabilis
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27064484/
https://doi.org/10.1086/374189
https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1977.tb11936.x
https://doi.org/10.5642/aliso.20123001.05
https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2039
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026512608982
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https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012088457-5/50026-5
https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcl078
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2006.01625.x
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2009/12/how-angiosperms-took-over-world
Amborella trichopoda
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1241089
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26290578/
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1246275
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1248709
Sphenodon punctatus
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.049
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-9952-7
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15751188/
https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.1997.9522875
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24132307/
Orycteropus afer
https://doi.org/10.1038/npg.els.0001578
https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=29792000
Limnognathia maerski
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199606023.001.0001
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2004.00004.x
https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4687(200010)246:1%3C1::AID-JMOR1%3E3.0.CO;2-D
Ginkgo biloba
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Images:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neanderthal_child.png
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA_(1).jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Welwitschia_mirabilis(2).jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Welwitschia_at_Huntington_Library,_Art_Collections_and_Botanical_Gardens.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Welwitschia_mirabilis0425.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Welwitschia_mirabilis_(female).jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amborella_trichopoda_1.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amborella_trichopoda_6.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amborella_trichopoda_(3173820625).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SphenodonSkull.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Limnognathia_wikipedia.jpg