The following table shows the number of dogs for certain tail lengths in a population of dogs.

Tail Length Number of Dogs
very short (less than 1 inch) 2
short (1–5 inches) 5
medium (5–10 inches) 15
long (10–15 inches) 5
very long (15–25 inches) 2
A bar graph entitled Dog Tail Length in a Population. The Y axis is labeled Length (inches). Two dogs have very short tails, less than one inch. Five dogs have short tails, between one and five inches. Fifteen dogs have medium-length tails, between five and ten inches. Five dogs have long tails, between ten and fifteen inches. Two dogs have very long tails, between fifteen and twenty-five inches.

Based on the data, what type of trait is tail length in dogs?

(1 point)
Responses

complete
complete

Mendelian
Mendelian

polygenic
polygenic

codominant

1 answer

Based on the data provided, tail length in dogs is best categorized as polygenic. This is because tail length likely results from the combined effect of multiple genes rather than being determined by a single gene (which would be the case for Mendelian traits). Polygenic traits typically show a range of phenotypes, as seen in the varied tail lengths in the data.

So the correct answer is: polygenic.