Question

placentals and marsupials are two groups of mammals. placentals are more closely related to each other than they are to any other group of animals, and marsupials are more closely related to each other than they are to any other group of animals. placental wolves look very similar to marsupial wolves. if you use distance analysis of morphological traits to build a phylogenetic tree that includes humans (a placental mammal), placental wolves, and marsupial wolves, which two groups would you conclude are most closely related? would the tree be correct?

Answer 1

Due to convergent evolution placental mammals (Wolf) are closely related to marsupial wolves (Tasmanian wolf). No, the tree is wrong.

What is convergent evolution?

It is the presence of similar features in animals of different lineages. The structures in these animals have similar functions but are absent in the common ancestors hence they are analogous structures not homologous.

Such convergence of functional, morphological, and structural traits from phylogenetically unrelated species may be a result of random mutation due to selection pressure.

Here, the Tasmanian wolf (marsupial wolf) and wolf (placental mammal) have several morphological similarities but they have unrelated ancestral lineages. Hence they show convergent evolution. These two subclasses of mammals have adapted to a specific food source, locomotor ability, or environment in similar ways.

Hence, the placental wolf and Tasmanian wolf exist sharing the same habitat in different continents former in Asia and the latter in Australia because these two show convergent evolution.

Learn more about convergent evolution from the link given below:

brainly.com/question/2698940?utm_source=android&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=question

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