TNT, a free program for phylogenetic analysis

Abstract

The main features of the phylogeny program TNT are discussed. Windows versions have a menu interface, while Macintosh and Linux versions are command-driven. The program can analyze data sets with discrete (additive, non-additive, step-matrix) as well as continuous characters (evaluated with Farris optimization). Effective analysis of large data sets can be carried out in reasonable times, and a number of methods to help identifying wildcard taxa in the case of ambiguous data sets are implemented. A variety of methods for diagnosing trees and exploring character evolution is available in TNT, and publication-quality tree-diagrams can be saved as metafiles. Through the use of a number of native commands and a simple but powerful scripting language, TNT allows the user an enormous flexibility in phylogenetic analyses or simulations. © The Willi Hennig Society 2008.