Please Use the Following Information to Answer the Question(s) Below

question 6

Multiple Choice

Please use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
Traditionally, whales and hippopotamuses have been classified in different orders, the Cetacea and the Artiodactyla, respectively. Recent molecular evidence, however, indicates that the whales' closest living relatives are the hippos. This has caused some zoologists to lump the two orders together into a single clade, the Cetartiodactyla. There is no consensus on whether the Cetartiodactyla should be accorded order status or superorder status. This is because it remains unclear whether the whale lineage diverged from the lineage leading to the hippos before or after the other members of the order Artiodactyla (pigs, camels, etc.) diverged (see Figure 20.5) . Figure 20.5
-Placing whales and hippos in the same clade means that

• A) these organisms are phenotypically more similar to each other than to any others shown on the trees in Figure 20.5.
• B) their morphological similarities are probably homoplasies.
• C) they had a common ancestor.
• D) all three of the responses are correct.

---

Definitions:

Ciliary Muscles

The ring of smooth muscle fibers in the eye's middle layer that controls the lens's shape for focusing.

Cataract

A medical condition where the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, leading to blurred vision and, if untreated, blindness.

Clouding

A visual effect where transparency is reduced, leading to a opaque or milky appearance, often observed in materials or solutions.

Lens

Disk-shaped structure that bends light rays so they fall on an eye’s photoreceptors.