A new Xenite species has been discovered. There is no fossil evidence to suggest the relative evolutionary age of this new species.

Question

Remake your character matrix and construct a new cladogram. Explain how you created your new cladogram, and:
identify which derived characters were homologies or analogies explain the evolutionary history of the organisms shown by your tree explain how you used new evidence to revise your cladogram.

Answer 1

Character matrix for Xenite species:

- Character 1: Presence of wings
- Character 2: Number of legs
- Character 3: Type of diet (herbivore, carnivore, omnivore)
- Character 4: Coloration (brightly colored, camouflaged)
- Character 5: Habitat preference (forest, desert, aquatic)

Cladogram:

/- Species A (wings, 6 legs, herbivore, brightly colored, forest habitat)
/Root ----|
/ \- Species B (no wings, 8 legs, carnivore, camouflaged, desert habitat)
/______|
/ \- Species C (wings, 4 legs, omnivore, brightly colored, aquatic habitat)
______|
\ /- Species D (wings, 6 legs, herbivore, camouflaged, forest habitat)
\______|
\- New Xenite Species (no wings, 6 legs, carnivore, camouflaged, desert habitat)

Explanation:

- Homologies: Shared derived characters among a group of organisms that originated in their common ancestor. For example, the presence of wings in Species A, C, and D can be considered homologies as they likely evolved from a common ancestor that had wings.
- Analogies: Similar traits that evolved independently in different lineages due to environmental pressures. For example, the presence of camouflaged coloration in Species B and D is an analogy, as they likely evolved this trait separately from different ancestors in response to their respective habitats.
- The cladogram shows the evolutionary relationships between the Xenite species based on their shared derived characters. The new Xenite species is placed based on its traits relative to the other species in the cladogram, indicating it shares a more recent common ancestor with Species B and D than with other species.
- The new evidence of the discovery of the new Xenite species has led to the revision of the cladogram by adding a new branch to accommodate this species and rearranging the relationships of the other species based on their shared derived characters.