LIFE SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The pattern of branching in a phylogenetic tree reflects how species or other groups evolved from a series of common ancestors. In trees, two species are more related if they have a more recent common ancestor and less related if they have a less recent common ancestor.

Detailed explanation-2: -A phylogenetic tree, also known as a phylogeny, is a diagram that depicts the lines of evolutionary descent of different species, organisms, or genes from a common ancestor.

Detailed explanation-3: -Phylogenies trace patterns of shared ancestry between lineages. Each lineage has a part of its history that is unique to it alone and parts that are shared with other lineages. Similarly, each lineage has ancestors that are unique to that lineage and ancestors that are shared with other lineages-common ancestors.

Detailed explanation-4: -Fossils, anatomy, embryos, and DNA sequences provide corroborative lines of evidence about common ancestry, with more closely related organisms having more characteristics in common. DNA underlies the similarities and differences in fossils, anatomy, and embryos.

Detailed explanation-5: -Unrooted trees don’t show a common ancestor but do show relationships among species. In a rooted tree, the branching indicates evolutionary relationships (Figure 2). The point where a split occurs, called a branch point, represents where a single lineage evolved into a distinct new one.