Hair on humans and other hominids is _____ .

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks about the character state of hair in humans and other hominids, presenting several possible terms.
Option a: 'derived' — This would imply that hair is a newly evolved feature unique to a particular lineage within hominids, not the ancestral condition shared by humans and their close relatives. Since hair is present across many mammals and is not a novel invention exclusive to this group, calling it derived in this context would be misleading.
Option b: 'cladistical' — This term is not a standard biological character-state term in cladistics. It does not describe a specific pattern of inheritance or evolutionary novelty, so it is not correct for character-state labeling.
Option c: 'symplesiamorphic' — This appears to be a misspelled form of 'symplesiomorphic.' A symplesiomorphy is a shared ancestral character state that is inherited from a distant common ancestor and is not unique to the group in question. Hair is an ancestral mammalian trait and is shared with other mammals outside the group, so describing it as a symplesiomorphy is consistent with it being an ancestral trait present in humans and other hominids due to common ancestry.
Option d: 'taxonomic' — This is not a character-state term; it refers to taxonomy itself (the naming and classification system), not a specific evolutionary state of a trait.
Option e: 'synapomorphic' — A synapomorphy is a shared derived (new) trait that defines a clade. Hair in humans and other hominids is not a derived feature unique to that clade, but rather an ancestral mammalian trait; thus, labeling it synapomorphic would be incorrect in this context.
In summary, only option c correctly fits the concept of an ancestral trait within this group, while the others either misuse terminology or describe incorrect evolutionary patterns for hair in humans and other hominids.

BIO 181 (001&002) FALL 2025 FA25: Cumulative Exam 4 covers the most important content from Units 1-4: You can do this!!! : ) [Grade is out of 150/900 pts, the same am't of pts for the active learning "easy points" classwork.]

Hair on humans and other hominids is _____ .

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BIO 181 (001&002) FALL 2025 FA25: Cumulative Exam 4 covers the most important content from Units 1-4: You can do this!!! : ) [Grade is out of 150/900 pts, the same am't of pts for the active learning "easy points" classwork.]

Hair on humans and other hominids is _____ .

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

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Use a specific one-word answer to receive credit.Ideally, when making phylogenetic trees, the taxa in the tree should be ___ .Please double check your spelling to make sure the word is spelled correctly. Thank you!

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