The illustration shows a left arrow labeled, “going back in time” near the arrowhead on the left, and “present” near the tail on the right. A timeline above this arrow has point A on the left labeled, “Species A is the ancestor of species B.” Point B to the right of A is labeled, “Species B is the common ancestor of species C and D.” The timeline after B divides into two branches as C and D. These points are together labeled, “Species C and D are the descendants of species B.”
Based on the figure, imagine two new species, E and F, descended from species C, and two new species, G and H, descended from species D. The most recent common ancestor of species E, F, G, and H is species
(1 point)
Responses
A.
A.
C.
C.
D.
D.
B.
1 answer
The most recent common ancestor of species E, F, G, and H is species B.
Species E and F are descendants of species C, and species G and H are descendants of species D. Since species B is the common ancestor of both species C and D, it is also the most recent common ancestor of all four species E, F, G, and H.
So the correct answer is: B.
