Hennig, Emil Hans Willi (The Father of Cladism)
Alessandro Minelli, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Published online: January 2014
DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0025061
Abstract
Emil Hans Willi Hennig was a German systematist and entomologist. As a specialist in Diptera, he published a fundamental treatise
on dipteran larvae and taxonomic monographs on several families. Hennig, however, is best known for his theoretical and methodological
contributions to biological systematics. Indeed, he is considered the founder of phylogenetic systematics, or cladistics.
Hennig articulated a method by which the evolutionary relationships of organisms (phylogeny) can be reconstructed and this
reconstruction is subsequently turned into a hierarchical classification. This method contrasted with the mainstream approach
to biological systematics adopted till the 1960s, but eventually succeeded to replace it, although in a modified version in
respect to Hennig's original outline. Hennig's phylogenetic systematics has heavily impacted other biological disciplines,
especially biogeography.
Keywords: cladistics; classification; phylogeny; species; tree of life
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