Exam 26: Phylogeny and the Tree of Life

In a comparison of birds and mammals, having four limbs is

Which of the following is true of all horizontally oriented phylogenetic trees, where time advances to the right?

Some molecular data place the giant panda in the bear family (Ursidae)but place the lesser panda in the raccoon family (Procyonidae). Consequently, the morphological similarities of these two species are probably due to

Use the following information and figure to answer the questions below. Traditionally, whales and hippopotamuses have been classified in different orders, the Cetacea and the Artiodactyla, respectively. Recent molecular evidence, however, indicates that the whales' closest living relatives are the hippos. This has caused some zoologists to lump the two orders together into a single clade, the Cetartiodactyla. There is no consensus on whether the Cetartiodactyla should be accorded order status or superorder status. This is because it remains unclear whether the whale lineage diverged from the lineage leading to the hippos before or after the other members of the order Artiodactyla (pigs, camels, etc.) diverged (see the figure below). This figure contrasts the "Within the artiodactyls" origin of the whale lineage with the "Without the artiodactyls" origin of the whale lineage. -One morphological feature of modern cetaceans is a vestigial pelvic girdle. If it is determined that cetacean lineage diverged from the artiodactyls' lineage after the divergence of pigs and other artiodactyla, then what should be true of the vestigial pelvic girdle of cetaceans?

Which statement represents the best explanation for the observation that the nuclear DNA of wolves and domestic dogs has a very high degree of sequence homology?

The following questions refer to this phylogenetic tree, depicting the origins of life and of the three domains. Horizontal lines indicate instances of gene or genome transfer. A possible phylogenetic tree for the three domains of life. -Which portion of the above figure may ultimately be better depicted as a "ring"?

If you were using cladistics to build a phylogenetic tree of cats, which of the following would be the best outgroup?

Concerning growth in genome size over evolutionary time, which of these is least associated with the others?

Which kingdom has been replaced with two domains?

Use the following information and figure to answer the questions below. Traditionally, whales and hippopotamuses have been classified in different orders, the Cetacea and the Artiodactyla, respectively. Recent molecular evidence, however, indicates that the whales' closest living relatives are the hippos. This has caused some zoologists to lump the two orders together into a single clade, the Cetartiodactyla. There is no consensus on whether the Cetartiodactyla should be accorded order status or superorder status. This is because it remains unclear whether the whale lineage diverged from the lineage leading to the hippos before or after the other members of the order Artiodactyla (pigs, camels, etc.) diverged (see the figure below). This figure contrasts the "Within the artiodactyls" origin of the whale lineage with the "Without the artiodactyls" origin of the whale lineage. -Placing whales and hippos in the same clade means

Which eukaryotic kingdom includes members that are the result of endosymbioses that included an ancient proteobacterium and an ancient cyanobacterium?

When using a cladistic approach to systematics, which of the following is considered most important for classification?

If, someday, an archaean cell is discovered whose rRNA sequence is more similar to that of humans than the sequence of mouse rRNA is to that of humans, the best explanation for this apparent discrepancy would be

A large proportion of archaeans are extremophiles, so called because they inhabit extreme environments with high acidity, salinity, and/or temperature. Such environments are thought to have been much more common on the primitive Earth. Thus, modern extremophiles survive only in places that their ancestors became adapted to long ago. Which of the following is, consequently, a valid statement about modern extremophiles, assuming that their habitats have remained relatively unchanged?

Assuming chimps and gorillas are humans' closest relatives, removing humans from the great ape clade and placing them in a different clade has the effect of making the phylogenetic tree of the great apes

The domestic dog, red fox, and wolf belong to the family Canidae. The dog is Canis lupus familiaris, the red fox is Vulpes vulpes, and the wolf is Canis lupus. Which of the following statements is correct?

Which kind of DNA should provide the best molecular clock for determining the evolutionary relatedness of several species whose common ancestor became extinct billions of years ago?

Use the following figure to answer the questions below. Humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans are members of a clade called the great apes, which shared a common ancestor about 18 million years ago. Gibbons and siamangs comprise a clade called the lesser apes. Tree-branch lengths indicate elapsed time. -The great apes comprise the family Hominidae, whereas the lesser apes comprise the family Hylobatidae. If the extant organisms on the far right side of the above figure comprise the next-most exclusive (i.e., specific)taxon, then they comprise different

There is some evidence that reptiles called cynodonts may have had whisker-like hairs around their mouths. If true, then what can be properly said of hair?

The common ancestors of birds and mammals were very early (stem)reptiles, which almost certainly possessed three-chambered hearts (two atria, one ventricle). Birds and mammals, however, are alike in having four-chambered hearts (two atria, two ventricles). The? four-chambered hearts of birds and mammals are best described as