Fig. 3.4. Phylogeny of major phyla within the kingdom Animalia
Image courtesy of Schierwater et al. 2009 originally published in PLOS Biology
Title
Question Set: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas
Table of Contents
- What are choanoflagellates? What is their significance to the evolution of animals?
- Why is the kingdom Animalia considered monophyletic? Why are the invertebrates considered paraphyletic?
- Describe the evolutionary relationships between the following pairs of taxa:
- Animals and fungi
- Sponges and cnidarians
- Phylum Cnidaria and phylum Annelida
- Arthropods and crustaceans
- Phylum Mollusca and phylum Echinodermata
- The phylum Porifera (sponges) is considered to be basal relative to phylum Mollusca (Fig. 3.4).
- Use your own words to explain the meaning of the previous sentence to a student one year younger than yourself.
- Does this previous sentence mean that sponge species are older than mollusc species? Explain your reasoning.
- What is the difference between a zygote and an embryo?
- Use your own words to define and distinguish the terms protostome and deuterostome. What is the evolutionary significance of these two groups?
