Phylogenetic systematics (or cladistics) was proposed by the German entomologist Willi Hennig (1966). Since its formulation it has had a great impact on taxonomy and other biological disciplines such as biogeography, paleontology, and evolutionary biology. In the case of biogeography, phylogenetic systematics has been fundamental and the basis for several historical biogeography approaches, playing a crucial role in the current status of this biological discipline (Crisci, 2001). The term cladistics was first used by authors such as Camin and Sokal or even Ernst Mayr (Schuh, 2000) and was applied to phylogenetic systematic studies that followed Hennig (1966). Notwithstanding that the term cladistics is currently in common use (even a scientific journal has that name), the word cladist was initially used as pejorative, to refer to those authors who used the methods of Willi Hennig (Schuh, 2000).