[kluh-dis-tiks] 
) | classification of organisms based on the branchings of descendant lineages from a common ancestor. |
| cla·dis·tics (klə-dĭs'tĭks) n. (used with a sing. verb) A system of classification based on the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of groups of organisms. cla·dis'tic, cla·dis'ti·cal adj., cla·dis'ti·cal·ly adv. |
A method of taxonomic classification that groups organisms according to their lines of evolutionary descent. All descendants of a given organism are called a clade.