If a wolf, alion and a tiger are classified by phonetic and then by phylogenetic systems the same pattern is revealed. In their evolutionary histories,the lion and tiger are more clostly related to each other than either is to a wolf. Structure(phenetic) analysis gives the same result.The mauve diagram below shows the actual evolutionary history of these animals, related to time and their degree of structural similarity.
Phenetic classifications of groups of animals are fetermined entirely by similarities and differences in structure. The evolutionary history of groups is not taken into account.
Phylogenetic classification are defined by known or deduced facts about evolutionary relationships of the animal concerned.