Phylogeny

AP Biology· difficulty 2/5

The cladogram shows relationships among five animals; solid dots mark species capable of powered flight.

Bat Mouse Hawk Sparrow Bee solid dots = "flying animals"

Grouping the marked "flying animals" (bat, hawk, bee) excludes their non-flying relatives and the most recent common ancestor. Such a group is

  • A

    Monophyletic

  • B

    Paraphyletic

  • C

    Polyphyletic

    check_circle
  • D

    Synapomorphic

Explanation

A polyphyletic group is assembled from members across distantly related lineages on the basis of a convergent trait, without including the most recent common ancestor of the group.

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