Practice question
Question
Why is it more difficult to determine the evolutionary relationship between two species belonging to the same Phylum compared to two species in the same Genus?
Explanation
As we ascend the taxonomic hierarchy, the number of shared characteristics decreases. A Phylum is a very high-level category grouping immensely diverse organisms (e.g., humans and fish in Chordata) based on just a few basic features. Therefore, determining precise relationships among them is much more difficult than comparing closely related organisms within a single Genus.
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