Answer to Question #325943 in Evolution for cornnnfrogeuu

Question

1.   What characteristic is the most recent derived characteristic? Explain your answer.

2.What characteristic is considered as plesiomorphic? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

1. In phylogenetics, a derived trait is a trait that is present in an organism, but was absent in the last common ancestor of the group being considered. This may also refer to structures that are not present in an organism, but were present in its ancestors, i.e. traits that have undergone secondary loss.
2. A primitive or ancestral character state is called plesiomorphy (plesiomorphic character), and a shared plesiomorphy is called a symplesiomorphy. For example, hair is a unique mammalian character that evolved with the evolution of mammals.