Biology / Unit 8 Bio 1809 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Shared Ancestral and Shared Derived Characters
Captions available
The idea
A shared ancestral character is present in every organism in a group; a shared derived character arose later, present in only some.
In practice
A vertebral column, present in every animal on a vertebrate tree, is ancestral; an amniotic egg, present in some, is derived.
Where people slip
Whether a trait is ancestral or derived depends on which tree is examined — the trait can be either.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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