Characteristics between the branch points of a cladogram that are shared by all organisms above the branch point and are not present in any below it are called
A)homologous characters.
B)homoplastic characters.
C)ancestral characters.
D)derived characters.
E)novel characters.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Characteristics between branch points of a cladogram that are shared by all organisms above the branch point and are not present in any below it are called derived characters. Derived characters are also known as apomorphies and reflect evolutionary changes that have occurred in a particular lineage after it diverged from its common ancestor with other lineages. Homologous characters are similarities between organisms that are due to inheritance from a common ancestor, while homoplastic characters are similarities between organisms that are due to convergence or parallelism. Ancestral characters, also known as plesiomorphies, are characteristics that were present in the common ancestor of a group of organisms and are still present in some or all of its descendants. Novel characters are unique to a particular lineage and are not found in any of its ancestors or other related lineages.

Characteristics Between the Branch Points of a Cladogram That Are