Fig. 5. A in A Systematist's Guide to Estimating Bayesian Phylogenies From Morphological Data

Fig. 5. A drawing showing different types of characters. In the center is Sphecomyrma freyi Wilson 1967 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a Cretaceous ant (Wilson 1967). Ant silhouette via T. Michael Keesey. (A) shows a binary discrete trait, fusion of the petiole.This trait has two possible states—fused and unfused.The distribution beside it shows how common each of the two character states are in the Barden and Grimaldi (2016) dataset. (B) shows a discrete, multistate trait. The number of antennal segments can take on multiple possible values, though only three are observed in the dataset. (C) shows a hypothetical continuous trait, tarsus length. Continuous traits can take on any real number, not only discrete values.