Purpose
The purpose of this lab was to teach us what a cladogram is and how to use it. Essentially a cladogram is a chart that shows you what traits came after the ones before it. Normally it is set up in a branch like formation with each and every single branch being unique to itself. For this project we had to make a cladogram using a hand full of bolts, screws, nails, etcetera. We would say when the specific piece gained a trait and why it would gain its trait. We used major concepts like Evolution and speciation in our project to help us make more reasonable claims as to why a certain thing evolved the way it did.
Story
Species of Landonus
By Cais, Bryce, Alexis, and Landon
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away, an asexual organism mysteriously appeared on the lifeless planet Landonus. This asexual organism came to be known as Radius metallum for its rod-like shape and metallic shell. Eventually, it evolved into several different animals such as Griseo tubus, Alba tuba, Tiaco fistula, and more. Griseo tubus lived in the deep, dark depths of the ocean. It used its cap like a body to propel itself in different directions so it could find and hunt for smaller prey. One day, however, a Griseo tubus noticed that its food was going higher and higher up to the bright light of the surface. The Griseo tubus could not travel that far up without being burned by the bright light, but its close relatives could. Both the Tiaco fistula and the Alba tuba had evolved into different colors so they could go up without being burned. The Alba tuba was able to go higher up to the surface since it was smaller and could better protect itself from the heat. Even though the Tiaco fistula could not get burned, its body’s size didn’t allow it to float high enough to the surface, limiting it to the ground.
There was also a Plana metallum that used its flat, curved body to slither through the water. Since it had a shiny, smooth skin, the heat bounced right off of it. This allowed it to travel up to the very top of the water and hunt for more prey. Sadly, the Plana metallum did not have any guaranteed way of getting its food. Some species had a different way of hunting and gathering their food. They evolved ridges that they used to “screw” themselves in bigger prey and hold on to them. These were known as the Planus acies. They would swim right alongside their prey and latch onto their body. They would then feed off their prey’s life source until it died and go on the hunt for another. Organisms caught on, however, and started to notice the Planus acies and swam away when they came close. Longus circum, however could swim faster due to it having a large, plus-shaped hole in its skull. This allowed it to have more of a thrust propelling it faster through the water. This gave them a better chance of catching up to their prey and surviving.
Additionally, there were the Cornu circulum. These organisms had a semi-spherical body and long arms. They used their long arms to crush smaller animals, killing them, so that it could eat them. This species was very successful in capturing its prey. There were also the Boltus ringus that had a hexagonal prism-shaped body with a hole in the middle. These creatures would sit along the bottom of the ocean and wait for very tiny organisms to swim inside of it. The Boltus ringus would then shoot inwards trapping and killing the prey. Their closer relatives, Boltus ballus, had a very similar method to catching their prey. Instead of having a hole in the middle of their bodies, they had a dome on the bottom. This let it propel itself up into the water catching prey as it went and then trapping them as it fell back down. The Curvam cel had an eel-like body, that allowed it to swim fast and hide away in small cracks. This allowed for it to be very effective in capturing its prey and hiding away from its hunters. There was also the Circus ringus that would just float around in the vast ocean being pulled by the current. What ever swam into their center would be stung and knocked out allowing the Circus ringus to eat it.
The U spicus was a long worm-like creature with a sharp nail-like head and tail. Also, if you cut it in half, both sides would still be alive and grow back. The Aurus ponus was an interesting animal in that it had an absurdly large head and a small body. This, coupled with its bright tone, made it an easy target for predators. The Spicus ponus had a less noticeable tone, so it was slightly better at surviving; however, its head was still too big. The Spicus capo kept its large head, but had a longer body to compensate. Because of this, it had less predators and, in fact, became a top predator itself, killing animals with its barbed tail. The Clavus argentum was a small snake-like creature which also had a barbed tail. The Clavus sulcata was another snake, but it had long slits on its skin which made it easier to bleed out and die. Because of this, it quickly became an endangered species.
Another species was the Hamo disrum that had a large hook-like appendage on its head. It used the hook to catch unsuspecting prey. However, it had a shiny outer shell which made it easy for its predators to spot it. Its close relative, the Hamo albus, had a dull shell which let it escape said predators. There was also the small Silvus hockus whose hook evolved to curl into itself, rendering it useless. The Aurus spiralis had a sharp, screw-like tail which could screw into its prey, causing death within 40 seconds. It would then take its prey and eat it. There was another species with a similar tail called the Igrum spirus which had a darker skin tone, giving it good camouflage in dark areas. It was also nocturnal. The Tip plana was an aquatic animal with a tail fin which provided thrust. However, its relative the Sphera spiralis was a land animal, so it gradually evolved to lose its tail fin. The Parvus inictis was similar to the Aurus spiralis and Igrum spirus but it had a flat head. It used its tail to burrow into the seafloor with the top of its flat head level with the ground. Then, it would wait for its prey to swim over it and emerge from the hole and eat it. Last, but not least, there was a Duru spirilis which had a longer neck, which meant it could reach food high above it.
There was also a Plana metallum that used its flat, curved body to slither through the water. Since it had a shiny, smooth skin, the heat bounced right off of it. This allowed it to travel up to the very top of the water and hunt for more prey. Sadly, the Plana metallum did not have any guaranteed way of getting its food. Some species had a different way of hunting and gathering their food. They evolved ridges that they used to “screw” themselves in bigger prey and hold on to them. These were known as the Planus acies. They would swim right alongside their prey and latch onto their body. They would then feed off their prey’s life source until it died and go on the hunt for another. Organisms caught on, however, and started to notice the Planus acies and swam away when they came close. Longus circum, however could swim faster due to it having a large, plus-shaped hole in its skull. This allowed it to have more of a thrust propelling it faster through the water. This gave them a better chance of catching up to their prey and surviving.
Additionally, there were the Cornu circulum. These organisms had a semi-spherical body and long arms. They used their long arms to crush smaller animals, killing them, so that it could eat them. This species was very successful in capturing its prey. There were also the Boltus ringus that had a hexagonal prism-shaped body with a hole in the middle. These creatures would sit along the bottom of the ocean and wait for very tiny organisms to swim inside of it. The Boltus ringus would then shoot inwards trapping and killing the prey. Their closer relatives, Boltus ballus, had a very similar method to catching their prey. Instead of having a hole in the middle of their bodies, they had a dome on the bottom. This let it propel itself up into the water catching prey as it went and then trapping them as it fell back down. The Curvam cel had an eel-like body, that allowed it to swim fast and hide away in small cracks. This allowed for it to be very effective in capturing its prey and hiding away from its hunters. There was also the Circus ringus that would just float around in the vast ocean being pulled by the current. What ever swam into their center would be stung and knocked out allowing the Circus ringus to eat it.
The U spicus was a long worm-like creature with a sharp nail-like head and tail. Also, if you cut it in half, both sides would still be alive and grow back. The Aurus ponus was an interesting animal in that it had an absurdly large head and a small body. This, coupled with its bright tone, made it an easy target for predators. The Spicus ponus had a less noticeable tone, so it was slightly better at surviving; however, its head was still too big. The Spicus capo kept its large head, but had a longer body to compensate. Because of this, it had less predators and, in fact, became a top predator itself, killing animals with its barbed tail. The Clavus argentum was a small snake-like creature which also had a barbed tail. The Clavus sulcata was another snake, but it had long slits on its skin which made it easier to bleed out and die. Because of this, it quickly became an endangered species.
Another species was the Hamo disrum that had a large hook-like appendage on its head. It used the hook to catch unsuspecting prey. However, it had a shiny outer shell which made it easy for its predators to spot it. Its close relative, the Hamo albus, had a dull shell which let it escape said predators. There was also the small Silvus hockus whose hook evolved to curl into itself, rendering it useless. The Aurus spiralis had a sharp, screw-like tail which could screw into its prey, causing death within 40 seconds. It would then take its prey and eat it. There was another species with a similar tail called the Igrum spirus which had a darker skin tone, giving it good camouflage in dark areas. It was also nocturnal. The Tip plana was an aquatic animal with a tail fin which provided thrust. However, its relative the Sphera spiralis was a land animal, so it gradually evolved to lose its tail fin. The Parvus inictis was similar to the Aurus spiralis and Igrum spirus but it had a flat head. It used its tail to burrow into the seafloor with the top of its flat head level with the ground. Then, it would wait for its prey to swim over it and emerge from the hole and eat it. Last, but not least, there was a Duru spirilis which had a longer neck, which meant it could reach food high above it.
Reflection
Overall I believe that this project wasn't bad but not good either. It was kind of just in the middle for me. Now I am not saying that this was boring or anything since half of the time, my group and I couldn't decide on what trait came before the other. But, it didn't have anything really engaging. I did learn some things though like what a cladogram is. I also learned that it is better to let other people's ideas go through even if they don't seem that appealing at the time.
Some things that I didn't like about the project were the directions. Now it wasn't quiet for our group specifically but I really had no idea what our true goal was until near the end. For our group we had to redo our story since there weren't any directions and we had to ask to see if what we had done was right. Other groups however had to redo their entire cladograms since they kept having to go back and change things. I just feel that there should have been a better sense of direction with this project and not just a guess and check.
Some things that I didn't like about the project were the directions. Now it wasn't quiet for our group specifically but I really had no idea what our true goal was until near the end. For our group we had to redo our story since there weren't any directions and we had to ask to see if what we had done was right. Other groups however had to redo their entire cladograms since they kept having to go back and change things. I just feel that there should have been a better sense of direction with this project and not just a guess and check.