I believe the answer would be genetic continuity.
E: All of the above. Hope this answer helps!
Answer:C
Explanation: those species have similar characteristics therefore placed in the same group
Answer:
Gregor Mendel, through his work on pea plants, discovered the fundamental laws of inheritance. He deduced that genes come in pairs and are inherited as distinct units, one from each parent. Mendel tracked the segregation of parental genes and their appearance in the offspring as dominant or recessive traits.