Form taxon facts for kids

A form taxon is a group of organisms on based on what they look like (their morphology). Such a taxon may not reflect their biological relationships. In other words, they may not be a clade. A good example are the terms snake and lizard, which are not good taxonomic terms because neither is a proper clade. On the other hand, all poisonous snakes and lizards are in a good clade, the Toxicofera.

Images for kids

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  The Vendozoan Charnia. The actual nature or phylogeny of the Vendozoan is not known, leading to form taxa only