Which of the following statements is true for all of the species that come after a branch point in a cladogram?Multiple choice question.They will no longer need an outgroup.They will share at least one shared derived character.They will share at least two shared derived characters.They do not share any derived characters.
Question
Which of the following statements is true for all of the species that come after a branch point in a cladogram?Multiple choice question.They will no longer need an outgroup.They will share at least one shared derived character.They will share at least two shared derived characters.They do not share any derived characters.
Solution
The correct answer is: They will share at least one shared derived character.
Here's why:
A cladogram is a diagram used in cladistics which shows ancestral relations between species to represent the evolutionary tree of life. A branch point, or node, in a cladogram represents the most recent common ancestor of the lineages branching from that node.
The species that come after a branch point in a cladogram are grouped together because they share at least one derived character, or synapomorphy. A derived character is a trait that the members of a group have in common and that is not found (or found in a different form) in the group's ancestors. This shared derived character is what unites these species and sets them apart from other groups.
So, the statement "They will share at least one shared derived character" is true for all of the species that come after a branch point in a cladogram. The other statements are not necessarily true.
Similar Questions
After a branch on a cladogram, each species will share a set of Blank______ characters that are not found in species below the branch point.Multiple choice question.convergentderivedprimitivevariable
Only shared derived characters are instructive in determining evolutionary relationships among taxa because Blank______.Multiple choice question.they are essential to life and therefore may not be changed over the course of evolutionthey indicate recent evolutionary changes and are therefore exhibited in closely related taxathey are retained from a distant common ancestor and are therefore exhibited by all members of a cladethey are the most prevalent characters exhibited by members of a clade
How is character polarity assigned for cladistics using outgroup comparison?Multiple choice question.A character is derived if it is shared with the outgroup.A character that is shared with the outgroup cannot be used to assign polarity.A character is homoplastic if it is shared with the outgroup.A character is ancestral if it is shared with the outgroup
Derived characters are Blank______.Multiple choice question.inherited from a common ancestor and are the result of convergent evolutionshared with the most recent common ancestor of a group, but not with prior ancestorsshared by two species derived from different ancestorsshared with the most recent common ancestor and prior ancestors of the group
How is a cladogram constructed?Multiple choice question.By using shared derived characters to construct clades within cladesBy organizing species along a horizontal line representing the geological time at which they first evolvedLike a flow chart, with evolutionary pathways leading to phenotypic traitsBy identifying disparate groups of organisms based on similar phenotypic traits
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