Question

Refer to the scenario below and then answer the following question(s).

In a fossil bed, you discover the preserved bones of a winged animal mixed in with the bones of small rodents. The small rodents are known from other fossils to have lived about two million years ago, but they are now extinct.

After considerable effort, you are able to collect and analyze DNA from the winged animal. You obtain the nucleotide sequence of the cytochrome c oxidase gene. When you compare this sequence to the sequence of the same gene in a bat, a rodent, a shrew, and a human, you find the following numbers of differences:

winged animal-bat 11 differences

winged animal-rodent 14 differences

winged animal-shrew 15 differences

winged animal-human 9 differences

Which hypothesis does this data support?

A) Of the mammals tested, the winged animal is probably most closely related to shrews.

B) Of the mammals tested, the winged animal is probably most closely related to humans.

C) Of the mammals tested, the winged animal is probably most closely related to rodents.

D) The winged animal is probably most closely related to bats, because bats also have wings.

Answer

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