Cladograms
A cladogram shows common traits and derived characteristics. Derived characteristics are traits that have been changed through the process of evolution. In the chart on the right it shows that they all have lungs, but the lungfish does not have limbs, all the other species in the chart do. As the chart nears the top you see the most derived chacteristics.
Branching Diagrams
Branching diagrams are used to find different species common ancestor.Taxonomists use diagrams discover the relationships of species through physical and genetic evidence. Branching diagrams show species when they where the most closely related to one another. At one point in time all species shared a common ancestor.