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A population of rodents, called population A, lived together in harmony on a large
landmass until one group of the population dispersed to a nearby island. Two million
years later, the island population is split into two smaller, equal-sized populations when
a river formed across the middle of the island. Now two new species have evolved on
the island, A1 and A2. They have replaced the population from which they were
derived. Which represents the phylogeny of the populations discussed in this scenario?
A) diagram M
B) diagram H
C) diagram K
2. In a phylogenetic tree, a node or branching point represents:
A) the common ancestor from which the descendent species diverged.
B) the species in the fossil record from which the descendent species diverged.
C) one of the descendent species in the phylogeny.
D) the ancestral species from which all species in the phylogeny arose.
E) None of the answer options is correct.
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3. The diagram below depicts three phylogenetic trees. Which of the three show the same
sister group relationships among groups A, B, and C?
A) Trees 1 and 2 are equivalent.
B) Trees 2 and 3 are equivalent.
C) Trees 1 and 3 are equivalent.
D) All three trees are equivalent.
E) All three trees are different: no two are equivalent.
4. A taxon that does NOT include the last common ancestor of all its members is a _____
group.
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
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5. The phylogeny below shows:
(left to right) Zoonar/K. Jorgensen/age fotostock; S Sailer/A Sailer/age fotostock; J & C Sohns/age fotostock; Michael Dick/
Animals Animals–Earth Scenes; FLPA/Jurgen & Christi/age fotostock; Yellow Dog Productions/Getty Images.
A) orangutans and gorillas are more closely related than humans and gorillas.
B) humans and gorillas are more closely related than orangutans and gorillas.
C) the gorilla is the most recent common ancestor to bonobos, chimps, and humans.
D) the orangutan is the most recent common ancestor of all great apes.
E) all great apes walk with an upright gait.
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6. Figure 23.2 below represents a phylogenetic tree of the vertebrate animals.
According to this tree, what is the sister group to the tetrapods?
A) sauropsids
B) mammals
C) lungfish
D) amphibians
E) coelacanths
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7. Examine Figure 23.2 below.
What is the sister group to mammals?
A) sauropsids
B) tetrapods
C) birds
D) crocodiles and alligators
E) birds plus crocodiles and alligators
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8. Examine Figure 23.2 below.
According to the figure, the closest relatives of turtles are:
A) lizards and snakes.
B) sauropsids.
C) tetrapods.
D) crocodiles, alligators, and birds.
E) hagfish.
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9. Examine Figure 23.2 below.
According to this figure, the amphibians are a _____ group.
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
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10. Examine Figure 23.2 below.
The group ―fish‖ includes all vertebrates except the tetrapods. The taxon ―fish‖ is
therefore a _____ group.
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
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11. Examine Figure 23.2 below.
If we define the taxon Actinopterygii to include the ray-finned fish, coelacanths,
lungfish, tetrapods, and their most recent common ancestor, it would be a _____ group.
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
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12. Examine Figure 23.2 below.
If we defined a taxon to include only the coelacanths and lungfish but not their most
recent common ancestor, it would be a _____ group.
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
13. Organisms in the same family will all be from the same genus.
A) True
B) False
14. Individual populations cannot be included as separate taxa in a phylogenetic tree.
A) True
B) False
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15. Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of phylogenetics?
A) Phylogenetics names species, genus, order, class, phylum, and kingdom.
B) Phylogenetics looks for patterns of relatedness.
C) Phylogenetics compares anatomical or molecular features.
D) Phylogenetics looks for patterns of relatedness and compares anatomical or
molecular features.
16. Which phylogenetic group includes all descendants of a common ancestor and only the
descendants of that ancestor?
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
D) genus
17. Based on the diagram below, you predict that the earliest fossil gorilla (which may not
resemble modern-day gorillas) would be _____ than the earliest fossil _____.
Photo sources: (left to right) Zoonar/K. Jorgensen/age fotostock; S Sailer/A Sailer/age fotostock; J & C Sohns/age fotostock; Michael Dick/
Animals Animals–Earth Scenes; FLPA/Jurgen & Christi/age fotostock; Yellow Dog Productions/Getty Images.
A) older; bonobo
B) younger; bonobo
C) younger; chimp
D) older; orangutan
E) None of the answer options is correct.
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18. Which of the following statements is always TRUE about sister taxa on a phylogenetic
tree?
A) Sister taxa are always the result of speciation events that result in two new genera.
B) Sister taxa always share a most recent common ancestor that is not shared with any
other taxon on the phylogeny.
C) Sister taxa are always the result of the most recent divergence event represented on
a phylogeny.
D) Sister taxa are always defined by shared ancestral characteristics that have been
modified in all other taxa in the phylogeny.
19. Traditional levels of taxonomy are nested in categories from least to most inclusive.
This same relationship is also represented on a phylogenetic tree by moving from the
terminal (most recent) nodes to the earliest nodes.
A) True
B) False
20. A phylogenetic tree is a:
A) hypothesis about the evolutionary history of species.
B) guess about the evolutionary history of species.
C) factual representation of the evolutionary history of species.
D) detailed timeline of a species’ evolutionary history.
E) None of the answer options is correct.
21. A taxon that includes a single common ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendants
is a _____ group.
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
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22. The phylogeny below shows:
Photo sources: (left to right) Zoonar/K. Jorgensen/age fotostock; S Sailer/A Sailer/age fotostock; J & C Sohns/age fotostock; Michael Dick/
Animals Animals–Earth Scenes; FLPA/Jurgen & Christi/age fotostock; Yellow Dog Productions/Getty Images.
A) a hypothesis about the evolutionary relationships of the apes.
B) proof of the evolutionary relationships between humans and chimps.
C) chimps gave rise to humans.
23. The evolutionary history of a group of organisms is called a:
A) phylogeny.
B) taxonomy.
C) morphology.
D) fossil.
24. A taxon that includes a single common ancestor and all its descendants is a _____
group.
A) monophyletic
B) paraphyletic
C) polyphyletic
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25. Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding a phylogenetic tree?
A) Phylogenetic trees could be considered physical representations of
hypothesesthose that seek to establish the evolutionary relationships between
different organisms.
B) Given the sheer number of prokaryotic and eukaryotic species on Earth, it is
impossible to create a phylogenetic tree encompassing all of these organisms.
C) Phylogenetic trees are constructed based solely on the morphological
characteristics of species; sequence similarities among different organisms are only
evaluated by taxonomists.
D) Within a phylogenetic tree, the order of groups located at the tree tipsnot the
nodes within a treedetermines sister group relationships.
E) Phylogenetic trees only depict the evolutionary relationships between different
classes; relationships among different species within the same genus are not
illustrated in such trees.
26. Imagine that you are chatting with one of your friends. He states that reptiles are
obviously a monophyletic group, as this group contains all of the organisms (outside of
fish) that possess scales. This statement is:
A) true, as monophyletic groups are based solely on the morphological characteristics
of their included species.
B) true, as the reptile group includes all of the organisms derived from a common
ancestor on the phylogenetic tree.
C) false, as reptiles are a polyphyletic group, much like birds and bats.
D) false, as reptiles are a paraphyletic group; this group does not include birds, even
though birds share a common ancestor with reptiles.
27. Imagine that a taxonomist is provided with several flashcards on which the names of
different species are written. She would likely organize these flashcards to construct a
phylogenetic tree. To do this, would she pay attention to which species belong to which
genus or class?
A) yes
B) no
28. Consider a generalized tree of life, with three large branches representing Archaea,
Bacteria, and Eukarya. These three branches would represent different:
A) domains.
B) genera.
C) species.
D) kingdoms.
E) phyla.
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29. The nodes on a phylogenetic tree represent:
A) common ancestors.
B) descendant lineages.
C) sister groups.
D) present-day groups.
E) homologies.
30. The tips of the branches on a phylogenetic tree represent:
A) present-day groups or extinct taxa.
B) common ancestors.
C) analogies.
D) sister groups.
E) homologies.
31. Phylogenetic trees represent hypotheses about the evolutionary relationships among
groups of organisms.
A) True
B) False
32. The order of groups along the tips of a phylogenetic tree indicates how closely those
groups are related.
A) True
B) False
33. Two taxa that are more closely related to each other than to any other taxon are called
_____ groups.
A) sister
B) paraphyletic
C) homologous
D) polyphyletic
E) analogous
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34. According to Figure 23.2 below, the most recent common ancestor of a bird and a turtle
is also the most recent common ancestor of a bird and which other group?
A) snake
B) human
C) crocodile
D) frog
E) None of the answer options is correct.
35. Which of the following represents the MOST informative evolutionary history of a
taxon?
A) monophyletic groups
B) paraphyletic groups
C) polyphyletic groups
D) derived groups
E) All of these choices are correct.
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36. A grouping that includes an ancestor
