Question

A student is comparing traits for five related bird species. They make a chart and record data for four different traits. They then use the chart to make a cladogram showing their hypothesized relationships among the species.

	1	2	3	4	5
Head Size	20 cm	20 cm	20 cm	20 cm	20 cm
Beak Color	Black	Blue	Blue	Black	Black
Eye Color	Black	Black	Red	Red	Red
Eye Number	2	2	2	2	3

Based on the chart, what is an ancestral trait for all of these species?

• A. 20 cm head size
• B. Blue beak color
• C. Red eyes
• D. Three eyes

Answer 1

The correct option is A 20 cm head size

In all the species the trait 20 head size is common, while rest of the traits alter with one or the other species.

So, the correct answer is '20 cm head size'