Exam 24: Systematic Biology: Phylogeny and Classification

The first modern practitioner of taxonomy was ____.

Since birds descended from one group of terrestrial dinosaurs, the grouping that includes only terrestrial dinosaurs is ____. ​

A molecular clock is based on ____. ​

Homoplasies are useful characters for phylogenetic analyses. ​

What are molecular clocks? How they can be used to estimate the time of evolutionary divergences? ​

Answer the question using the accompanying figure. In the figure, letter C represents a ____ taxon, which includes ____. ​

The traditional kingdom Monera is now divided into two domains, Archaea and Bacteria.

By definition, a monophyletic lineage is a ____.

Unless a derived character state is lost or replaced by newer characters over evolutionary time, ____ can serve as markers for ____ lineages that underwent adaptive radiation.

A taxon that includes only birds and bats, two clades of vertebrates capable of flight, is considered ____.

Homoplasies are the result of convergent evolution. ​

Describe why many systematists adopt the principle of parsimony.

Which innovation(s)places birds in a separate class? ​

   Figure 24.1 Answer the question using the accompanying figure. In the figure, letter A represents a ____ taxon, which includes ____.

Explain how systematists commonly identify ancestral and derived character states in the absence of fossil evidence. ​

Characters that provide evidence for evolutionary relationships based on shared ancestry are called ____.

Which pair of traits is homologous? ​