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Question

Which of the following is most closely related to modern man in terms of phylogeny?

A
Gorilla
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B
Chimpanzee
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C
Gibbon
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D
Orangutan
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Solution

The correct option is B Chimpanzee
Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a species or a group of organisms.

Apes, monkeys and humans are mammals placed in the order primates. Primates differ from other mammals in having a large brain size. Humans are more closely related to apes than to monkeys.

There are two categories of apes, the lesser apes and the great apes.

Gibbons are lesser apes. Chimpanzee, orangutan and gorilla are considered great apes. The great apes are comparatively large in size and have human-like features when compared to lesser apes.

In the course of evolution, the gibbons were the first to split from the hereditary line of the great apes and humans. Hence, gibbons differ from humans and great apes.

Looking into the evolutionary history of the great apes, it is seen that gorillas, chimpanzees and humans have a common ancestor.

A comparative analysis of their genetic composition showed that the chimpanzees share approximately 98.2% of their DNA with humans, making a difference of just about 1.2%.

Research and genomic studies suggest a difference of approximately 1.6% difference between the human and gorilla DNA.

Analysis of the orangutan genome shows 97% similarly with the human genome. They are distinctly related to humans.

Thus, keeping in mind the evolutionary timeline and genetic analysis of the primates, humans are closely related to chimpanzees, followed by gorillas and then orangutans.

Therefore, the phylogenetic relationship between man, gorilla, chimpanzee, orangutan and gibbon shows that man is more closely related to chimpanzees than the others mentioned.

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