TAXIMETRICS

also called Numerical Taxonomy, the multivariate analysis of many measurable features (taxonomic characters) to produce a biological classification. Because of the complexity of the analysismany characters are measured on many individuals or a number of speciesthe use of a computer is virtually mandatory. No attempt is made, as in evolutionary taxonomy, to weight characters on the basis of their presumed roles in natural selection. For this reason, numerical taxonomy produces a classification that reflects phenetic distances, i.e., degrees of similarity. Such classifications are rejected by many conventional taxonomists who feel that the relationships expressed in a classification should be strictly evolutionary. See also taxonomy.