Answer:
The correct answer would be c. birds and reptiles share a number of inherited characteristics.
In evolutionary biology, the principle of common ancestors or descent explains how different groups of organisms share a common ancestor.
In other words, different groups of organisms are believed to evolve from a common ancestor.
The groups which share recent common ancestor share a number of common inherited characters.
The groups which share distant common ancestor share less common characters.
Thus, birds and reptiles share a number of characters as they have evolved from common descent or ancestor.