PAUP*

PAUP* (Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony *and other methods) is a computational phylogenetics program for inferring evolutionary trees (phylogenies), written by David L. Swofford. Originally, as the name implies, PAUP only implemented parsimony, but from version 4.0 (when the program became known as PAUP*) it also supports distance matrix and likelihood methods. Version 3.0 ran on Macintosh computers and supported a rich, user-friendly graphical interface. Together with the program MacClade, with which it shares the NEXUS data format, PAUP* was the phylogenetic software of choice for many phylogenetists. Version 4.0 added support for Windows (graphical shell and command line) and Unix (command line only) platforms. However, the graphical user interface for the Macintosh version requires Classic, which is no longer supported by Mac OS X 10.5 and later. There is a command line version of PAUP* for Intel-based Macs. PAUP* is also available as a plugin for Geneious.