Exam 21: Reconstructing and Using Phylogenies

A group of biologists primarily studying the evolutionary relationships of crickets also include closely related grasshoppers to help determine which traits are ancestral in crickets.The crickets are the

Consider six species of grasshoppers (A-F).Species A, B, and C form a clade.Species D and E also form a clade.The clade containing species A, B, and C is a sister to species F.Which species groups would be a clade?

Repetitive DNA sequences usually evolve very quickly.Based on this fact, molecules that have a rapid mutation rate are best suited to the study of relationships among

Refer to the figure showing the wing and support structures (bones) of bat and bird wings. The overall arrangements of the support structures of the bat and bird wings are _______ traits.

Phyla are composed of classes (the next least inclusive group), which in turn are composed of _______ (the next least inclusive group).

Traits in two or more organisms that are similar but not derived from a common ancestor are called

The scientific name of the common loon is Gavia immer."Gavia" is the name of the _______ to which this bird belongs.

Refer to the figure. The figure shows the phylogeny of three extant species of turtles.Species 1 and 2 have a particular bone structure, while species 3 does not.The most generally accepted opinion is that the structure evolved after species 1 and 2 diverged from species 3.Recently, some scientists have questioned this and suggested that the structure evolved before species 1, 2, and 3 diverged from the common ancestor and that the structure was lost in species 3.Two fossils (A and B) have been discovered.Which information from these fossils would best support the new claim that species 3 lost the structure?

Refer to the figure showing a phylogenetic tree of immunodeficiency viruses. Suppose L'Hoest monkeys were more closely related to African green monkeys than they were to sun-tailed monkeys.Given the phylogeny of viruses in the figure, what would this phylogeny of primates imply for the transmission of viruses.

A lineage of ants evolved wings about 30 million years ago.A lineage within that lineage subsequently lost wings about 10 million years ago.The loss of wings is an example of a _______, which is a(n)______.

Which statement about swordtails or related fish is true?

Two groups of turtles diverged from one another 6 million years ago.The branches of the different groups of turtles on a phylogenetic tree are called lineages, and the location where they branched off is called a _______.

A group of biologists primarily studying the evolutionary relationships of crickets also includes closely related grasshoppers to help determine which traits are ancestral in crickets.The grasshoppers are the

In the study of evolution, scientists often look at homologous features in species.Which is least suitable for use as a homologous feature?

Humans and chimpanzees diverged about 6 million years ago.If 12 nucleotide substitutions have occurred between human and chimpanzee lineages in a sequence of mitochondrial DNA and 36 have occurred between humans and gibbons, according to the molecular clock hypothesis, humans and gibbons separated _______ million years ago.

Humans and African apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas) share traits, such as elongated skulls and shortened canine teeth, that other related species do not have.These characteristics are called

Scientists have been able to reconstruct DNA sequences in an ancestral archosaur to produce an opsin protein.Knowledge of the opsin sequence in the ancestral archosaur provides clues about the animals' visual capabilities and probable behaviors.Which is conclusion based on their results is false?

Biologists estimate that there are tens of millions of species on Earth.How many have been described?

Consider five species of toads.Species A and B are sister species.Species C and D are also sister species.The clade containing species A and B is a sister to the clade containing species C and D.Which species is most likely to share synapomorphies with species E?

Amaryllidaceae is the name for