Question

Which data type, morphological or molecular, will allow you to create a more accurate cladogram?

Answer 1

C

Explanation: According to the table, the deer and cow have the fewest differences (0), so they should be placed closest together on the cladogram, branching from the same common ancestor. That is shown in cladograms A, C and D. The pig and whale share a large number of differences (8), so they should NOT branch from the same common ancestor as shown in cladogram D. The next two organisms with the fewest differences are the hippo and whale (1 difference), so they should share a recent common ancestor on the cladogram. Based on the molecular data, the hippo is more closely related to the whale than to the cow or deer. Therefore, the most likely cladogram is cladogram C, which shows the whale and hippo descending from a common ancestor. Another potentially acceptable cladogram, not shown here, could have the camel and pig branch from the same common ancestor

Answer 2

Phylogenetic trees reconstructed from molecular sequences are often considered more reliable than those reconstructed from morphological characters, in part because convergent evolution, which confounds phylogenetic reconstruction, is believed to be rarer for molecular sequences than for morphologies

Step-by-step explanation: