The genealogical history of organisms, both living and extinct. Phylogeny represents the historical pattern of relationships among organisms which has resulted from the actions of many different evolutionary processes. Phylogenetic relationships are depicted by branching diagrams called cladograms, or phylogenetic trees. Cladograms show relative affinities of groups of organisms called taxa. Such groups of organisms have some genealogical unity, and are given a taxonomic rank such as species, genera, families, or orders. For example, two species of cats—say, the lion (Panthera leo) and the tiger (Panthera tigris)—are more closely related to each other than either is to the gray wolf (Canis latrans). The family including all cats, Felidae, is more closely related to the family including all dogs, Canidae, than either is to the family that includes giraffes, Giraffidae. The lion and tiger, and the Felidae and Canidae, are called sister taxa because of their close relationship relative to the gray wolf, or to the Giraffidae, respectively.