Asked by aiden

Consider the recent phylogenetic tree of five different organisms.

A phylogenetic tree is shown. The root of the tree is birds. The branches are crocodiles, bats, and insects.

Old classification systems based on physical characteristics would most likely disagree with the relationship between which two animals in the tree?
crocodiles and insects
bats and humans
birds and bats
humans and crocodiles

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
birds and bats

Explanation: Early classification emphasized shared physical traits (both have wings), so birds and bats would have been grouped together. Modern phylogenies show that bat wings evolved independently (bats are mammals, birds are related to crocodiles), so those two are not closely related.