Humans and African apes (chimpanzees,bonobos,and gorillas)share traits such as elongated skulls and shortened canine teeth,which other more distantly related species do not have.These characteristics are called
A) homoplasies.
B) synapomorphies.
C) cladistics.
D) parsimonies.
E) evolutionary reversals.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Synapomorphies are shared derived characteristics, meaning they are traits that evolved in a common ancestor and were passed down to its descendants. The elongated skulls and shortened canine teeth are examples of synapomorphies between humans and African apes, indicating a close evolutionary relationship. Homoplasies are traits that evolved independently in different lineages and do not indicate a close evolutionary relationship, while cladistics and parsimonies are methods for constructing evolutionary trees based on shared characteristics. Evolutionary reversals refer to the re-evolution of a ancestral trait that had been lost in a lineage, which is not the case with the traits shared between humans and African apes.

Humans and African Apes (Chimpanzees,bonobos,and Gorillas)share Traits Such as Elongated