Cladogram Maker
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Articles

Everything we have written about cladograms, phylogenetic trees and the file formats that store them, gathered in one place. Start with a concept, follow a step-by-step how-to, or read up on a format.

Concepts

Plain-English explainers for the ideas behind the diagrams.

What is a cladogram?Definition, the parts, and how to read one What is a clade?Monophyletic, paraphyletic and polyphyletic groups Cladogram vs phylogenetic treeWhat the difference really is

Step-by-step how-tos

Practical walkthroughs, from a blank page to a finished figure.

How to make a cladogramTaxa, characters, matrix and diagram How to read a cladogramNodes, clades and relatedness How to make a phylogenetic treeFrom a character or distance matrix How to read a phylogenetic treeBranch lengths, scale bars and support

File formats

How trees are stored as text, and how to move them between programs.

The Newick format explainedParentheses, branch lengths and support The NEXUS format explainedBlocks, trees and the TRANSLATE table Newick vs NEXUSWhich tree format to use, and when

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