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The basic premise of cladistics is organisms that are closely related share a common evolutionary history. The characteristics that are shared by group members and derived from their ancestors are called:
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Correct Answer: B. Synapomorphies
Plesiomorphies are characteristics that are original in the organism. While apomorhic means “derived characteristic”, the prefix syn- alters the meaning to “shared derived characteristic.” Using the prefix aut- causes the meaning to change to “self-derived characteristic” implying that it isn’t shared by another group. Homoplasy or homoplastic characteristics are shared among groups, but weren’t derived from an ancestral source.
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