Cladogram

Imagine trying to organize a family reunion where you need to figure out how everyone is related. Just like you would create a family tree to show connections between relatives, a cladogram is used to illustrate the evolutionary relationships between different species. In this analogy, each branch of the family tree represents a common ancestor, much like how each branch in a cladogram represents a shared evolutionary ancestor for the species that branch off from it. Both the family tree and the cladogram visually map out connections and origins, helping us understand the links between individuals or species over time.