EVOLUTION
SOURCES OF VARIATION IN A POPULATION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Yes, mules have enough of their own traits to be considered a species.
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Yes, the fact that have different number of chromosomes makes them a different species
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No, mules are too similar to the parent species
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No, due to their inability to reproduce successfully.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Hybrids are the offspring of two species. A mule is the hybrid offspring of a female horse and male donkey. Because mules are sterile, they are not classified as a distinct species.
Detailed explanation-2: -A donkey and a horse are able to mate and produce an offspring known as a mule. The resultant mule possesses 63 chromosomes in its cells due to the donkey parent having 62 chromosomes and the horse parent having 64. The mule is unable to mate with other mules to produce its own offspring.
Detailed explanation-3: -Explanation: Classifying species can be a difficult and particularly gray area. The key to this question, however, is that mules are sterile. This is an example of post-zygotic reproductive isolation.
Detailed explanation-4: -Mule: The result of a donkey stallion mating with a female horse. Mules tend to have the head of a donkey and the extremities of a horse. Hinny: The result of a horse stallion mating with a female donkey. Hinnies are less common than mules and there might be subtle differences in appearance.
Detailed explanation-5: -Those mismatched chromosomes make it hard to make viable sperm and eggs. So mules are sterile because horse and donkey chromosomes are just too different. But they are alive because horse and donkey chromosomes are similar enough to mate.