alleryStart learning →Cladograms are constructed by using which kind of trait to separate groups?
AShared derived traits
BShared ancient traits
CRandomly chosen traits
DPurely physical traits
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Shared derived traits
1. Not every shared feature tells you about recent common ancestry.
2. Cladograms are constructed by using shared derived traits.
3. Those traits distinguish different groups of species from one another.
4. A trait shared by everything in the tree cannot separate any of its branches.
_Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 20 'Phylogenies and the History of Life', sections 20.1-20.3_
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