Exam 26: Phylogeny and the Tree of Life

Use the following information to answer the questions below. Traditionally, zoologists have placed birds in their own class, Aves. More recently, molecular evidence has shown that birds are more closely related to reptiles than their anatomy reveals. Genetically, birds are more closely related to crocodiles than crocodiles are to turtles. Bird anatomy has become highly modified as birds have adapted to flight, without their genes having undergone nearly as much change. -For a proponent of PhyloCode classification, what is true of the reptile clade if birds are not included in it?

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