There are five species of beetles.Species A and B have red colored wings, whereas species C and D have pale wings and species E lacks wings completely.Which piece of evidence would best support the hypothesis that red wings are a synapomorphy?
A) Evidence from morphology unrelated to wings that A and B are sister species.
B) DNA evidence showing that species B and D are sister species.
C) Fossil evidence showing that the common ancestor of all five species lacked wings.
D) Fossil evidence showing that the common ancestor of all five species had red wings.
E) Evidence showing that species A and B live in an environment that favors red wings, whereas the other three species live in an environment that favors pale wings

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A synapomorphy is a trait that is shared by two or more taxa and their most recent common ancestor, where the trait is assumed to have evolved in the ancestor. If species A and B are sister species based on morphology unrelated to wings, it supports the idea that red wings are a synapomorphy for these species, indicating they inherited this trait from their common ancestor.

There Are Five Species of Beetles