Some Members of a Diverse Group of Phyla Share a Common

question 16

Multiple Choice

Some members of a diverse group of phyla share a common feeding structure and a certain type of larva.These characteristics are synapomorphies that identify these phyla as lophotrochozoans.Other animals are classified as lophotrochozoans but lack these synapomorphies.What explains the fact that animals that have these common characters are grouped with other animals that lack the characters?

• A) The characters may have been lost in ancestors of those phyla lacking the characters.
• B)Morphological and developmental characters are less important than genetic characters.
• C) Animal relationships are "in the eye of the beholder." They are based more on preferences of the investigator than on morphological or genetic evidence.
• D) Molecular analyses have shown that lophotrochozoan phyla are related.