Evolutionary Relationships Answers

Which best describes traditional classification?

Dr. Digger, a paleontologist, finds a fossil that he describes in his journal.The creature was approximately 1 meter long, with its backbone fused into a large shell covering the body cavity. It had a beaklike mouth, without teeth, and all four limbs were in the form of flippers.Based on anatomical similarities, to which modern animal is Dr. Digger’s creature most closely related?

According to the cladogram, which organisms are in the smallest clade with birds?

Why was modern classification invented?

If two organisms are in the same clade, what can you predict about their relationship?

A scientist discovers a new organism that is related to clownfish. What can the scientist discover by using molecular clocks?

Consider the diagram.Josiah says this is a phylogenetic tree of the dinosaurs. Maleek says it is a cladogram of the dinosaurs. Who is correct?

Protists are a group of organisms that are characterized as eukaryotes (they have cells with nuclei) that are neither plants nor animals nor fungi. They are very diverse, and there are many hypotheses about their classification. The cladogram for protists is constantly changing and, sometimes, there are opposite hypotheses that both have data to support them. What is the implication of a changing hypothesis?

Consider the phylogenetic tree of Old World primates.According to the tree, which primates share the most recent common ancestor with humans?

Which best describes derived characteristics?