From Figure 26.5, what is true of Dryopithecus and Ouranopithecus?
1)They were great apes.
2)They shared a common ancestor more recently with the orangutans than with the other great apes.
3)They appear to be part of a polytomy.
4)Their closest common ancestor with all of the extant great apes is the one they share with the orangutans.
5)They were about as different from each other genetically as humans are different from chimps.
A) 1, 2, and 4
B) 1, 3, and 4
C) 2, 4, and 5
D) 1, 2, 3, and 4
E) 2, 3, 4, and 5

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

From Figure 26.5, we can see that both Dryopithecus and Ouranopithecus were great apes (1) and appear to be part of a polytomy (3). They do not share a common ancestor more recently with the orangutans than with the other great apes (2) but their closest common ancestor with all of the extant great apes is the one they share with the orangutans (4). There is no information given about their genetic differences from each other (5). Therefore, the correct choice is B: 1, 3, and 4.