Question

Study the cladogram below. Which statement is true regarding the organisms on the cladogram?

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is The salamander has lungs, but not claws or nails.

Explanation:

Cladogram:

A cladogram is a diagrammatic epresentation of the evolutionary relationships between organisms that emerged from the same ancestor. Basically, it shows how closely one organism is related to another.

A cladogram differs with a phylogenetic tree in the sense that a cladogram only shows evolutionary relationships between one ancestor and all its descendants. On the other hand, a phylogenetic tree explains relationships between many clades (group of related species)

• In this clade, claws and nails evolved later than the emergence of salamanders and salmon. Therefore, the salamander does have lungs but not claws or nails.
• All these organisms have a common ancestor. As you look at the bottom, all the branches lead to a single, common ancestor.
• In a clade, the organisms closest in terms of evolution are placed close to each other. Therefore, the salmon is most closely related to the lizard not the hamster.
• Similarly, the final descendant of the ancestor i.e. the chimpanzee is most closely related to the lizard rather than the salamander.