Natural classification

to group species together simply based on what they all do ex) grouping birds, bats and insects together because they all fly.  Flight evolved separately in these groups and they do not share a common ancestor in many different ways.  The closest level of shared classification is phylum Chordata for birds and bats (they both have notochords – a “nerve cord”)

• convergent evolution can make distantly related organisms appear similar • divergent evolution/adaptive radiation can make closely related organisms appear different.

Advantages of Natural Classification  Allows for easier identification of species since you use its features to assign its Domain, Kingdom, etc. down to species level. This is made easier by using dichotomous keys  Because all members of a group evolve from a common ancestor, they will have similar characteristics, which allows for predictions about species within that group Example: If a new species of bat was discovered, we could make predictions with reasonable certainty that it would have hair, mammary glands, a placenta, a four-chambered heart, and other mammalian features. These would not be able to have been made if bats were simply classified with all other flying organisms.

it states that All members of a genus or higher taxon should have a common ancestor, which means that we can expect members of a natural group to have similar characteristics.