Alternative representation of phylogenies

The same topology can be drawn in lots of different ways. Some of the most common formats are shown in Figure 13. Red lines indicate the same branch in each representation. Trees can be rotated on the page and still depict the same tree. These trees are not drawn to the same scale.

Identify the different types of alternative representations using the interactive image below.

Figure 13 Alternative representations of the same topology.

Diagonal and rectangular formats are most commonly used for publication. Rectangular format has the advantage that it is easy for the human eye to quickly assess the relative branch lengths; however you should note that the length of the lines that are perpendicular to the branch lengths have no meaning.

Curved format is often used in review papers to represent summaries of phylogenies, where precise knowledge of branch lengths may be less important. Radial format is typically used to show unrooted trees, and circular format is often used to represent large phylogenies with many taxa (for the simple reason that it is easy to fit onto a printed page).