Question 75
(Multiple Choice)
Use the following information and figure to answer the questions below.
Traditionally,whales and hippopotamuses have been classified in different orders,the Cetacea and the Artiodactyla,respectively.Recent molecular evidence,however,indicates that the whales' closest living relatives are the hippos.This has caused some zoologists to lump the two orders together into a single clade,the Cetartiodactyla.There is no consensus on whether the Cetartiodactyla should be accorded order status or superorder status.This is because it remains unclear whether the whale lineage diverged from the lineage leading to the hippos before or after the other members of the order Artiodactyla (pigs,camels,etc.)diverged (see the figure below).
This figure contrasts the "Within the artiodactyls" origin of the whale lineage with the "Without the artiodactyls" origin of the whale lineage.
-What can be properly inferred from the above figure?
A)In the "Without" tree, pigs are more distantly related to hippos than is depicted in the "Within" tree.
B)In the "Without" tree, pigs are more closely related to hippos than are whales.
C)In the "Within" tree, pigs are more closely related to whales than they are to hippos.
D)The "Without" tree is more consistent with molecular evidence than is the "Within" tree.
E)In the "Within" tree, all artiodactyls, including hippos, are more closely related to each other than any are to the whales.
Answer