The Fossil Record Is Often Used to Infer Phylogenetic History

Multiple Choice

The fossil record is often used to infer phylogenetic history. Which of the statements accurately supports this assumption?

A) There are fossil representatives of every organism in the tree of life.
B) There is a one-to-one correlation between each branch of the phylogenetic tree and fossil specimens.
C) Events that occur early in the fossil record are represented by branching events nearer to the root of a phylogenetic tree.
D) Events that occur early in the fossil record are represented by branching events nearer to the tips of a phylogenetic tree.
E) Fossil record events are too old to be represented on phylogenetic trees, which reconstruct the more recent past.