Honors Biology
Phylogentic Trees
Name:
Phylogeny—study of the evolutionary history of a species or a group of species
Phylogenetic Tree—branching diagram representing the evolutionary history of a group of organisms
Anoles Phylogenetic Tree
True or False
1. _______ According to the phylogenetic tree, all anole lizards are more closely related to one another than they are
to Leiocephalus arinatus.
2. _______ Anolis cristatellus is more closely related to Anolis occultus than it is to Anolis evermanni.
This phylogenetic tree is showing the different body types of anole lizards.
3. Based on this phylogeny, do lizards of the same body type tend to be more closely related to one another than to lizards of
different body types?
This tree is used to show where the lizards live; H = Hispaniola, PR = Puerto Rico
4. In general, are lizards on the same island more closely related to one another than to similar-looking lizards from other
islands?
Using the two phylogenetic trees above answer the following questions:
1. The trees are more consistent with which of the following hypotheses:
a. The same types of anole lizards evolved independently on each island
b. Each lizard type evolved once on one of the islands and then migrated to other islands, where it evolved into different
species.
c. Each lizard types evolved on the mainland and was brought to each of the islands, where it evolved into a different species.
d. All species of lizards appeared at exactly the same time on each of the islands.
2. Which of the following statements is supported by the evidence from the tree?
a. All the anole species in this tree do not share a common ancestor.
b. Anolis coelestinus is more closely related to Leiocephalus carinatus than to any other anole species.
c. Anolis coelestinus is the oldest anole species.
d. The anole species on Puerto Rico and Hispaniola evolved from a common ancestor.
3. Which of the following statements is supported by the evidence from the tree?
a. New species evolve every few thousand years.
b. Similar adaptations evolved on different islands.
c. Similar species evolved in very different habitats.
d. The number of body plans for lizard species is unlimited.
4. According to Dr. Losos, the independent evolution of similar species on the different islands is an example of which of the
following processes?
a. Reproductive Isolation
b. Sexual Selection
c. Convergent Evolution