Homologous and Analogous Structures Exercise

Flying Squirrel
Sugar Glider

The sugar glider is a marsupial mammal in the possum Family Petauridae. The flying squirrel is a
placental mammal in the squirrel Family Sciuridae. Both animals have extensive flaps of skin
that allow them to glide between trees.

1. Is the similar gliding ability of sugar gliders and flying squirrels based on a shared
ancestor, or convergent evolution? Why?
Convergent evolution: since the flying squirrel is a placental mammal and the sugar glider is a marsupial, they are
obviously not closely related. Thus, the adaptation is not derived from shared ancestry.

2. Based on your answer to #1, state whether the gliding skin flaps in sugar gliders and
flying squirrels are homologous or analogous structures.

Since the adaptation is not derived from shared ancestry, it is an analogous structure.

3. Both sugar gliders and flying squirrels have fur and mammary glands. Are these traits
homologous or analogous? Why?
These traits are shared by all mammals, and is a primitive trait inherited from a distant
shared common ancestor. Thus these traits are homologous, since they are primitive traits.
Which of the following scientific names is properly written? For those that are incorrect, correct
them. They are spelled correctly.

Procambarus Simulans Physella virgata homo sapiens Homo sapiens

Procambarus simulans
quercus Rubra Quercus rubra Lemna minor
Felis leo

(The above species are, respectively, a crayfish, a snail, humans, lions, red oaks, and duckweed).

Which of the following organisms are most closely related (i.e., which are in the same genus)?
Ursus americanus Quercus bicolor Homarus americanus
Parus bicolor Parus carolinensis Sitta carolinensis
Sitta canadensis Quercus rubra Ursus arctos
Ursus arctos/Ursus americanus, Parus bicolor/Parus carolinesis, Sitta carolinensis/Sitta
canadensis, Quercus bicolor/Quercus rubra are all most closely related because they have the
same genus name (first part of binomial nomenclature)

(The above species are, from left to right, respectively, the American black bear, swamp oak, the
lobster, tufted titmouse, Carolina chickadee, white breasted nuthatch, red breasted nuthatch, the
red o a k, an d t h e p o l a r b e a r ).
W hi c h tw o o f t h e f i v e s p e c ies listed in UIF UBCMF CFMPX are more
closely related? Which three species are more closely related to each other than to the other two
species? Which species is not as closely related to the other four species? Explain.

The hierarchical classification of five different animals.

Kingdom Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda Mammalia Chordata Chordata Chordata

Class Insecta Mammalia Chordata Mammalia Mammalia

Order Hymenoptera Carnivora Carnivora Primata Carnivora

Family Apidae Felidae Canidae Hominidae Canidae

Genus Apis Felis Canis Homo Vulpes

Species A. mellifera F. catus C. familiaris H. sapiens sapiens V. fulva

(Common
Name) honeybee house cat dog humans red fox

The following diagrams are similar to those of Figure 8.2 JO ZPVS SFBEJOH. The
‘actual’ phylogenetic relationship is shown by the solid lines, with species ‘A’ as the common
ancestor for all species. For each of the clades (within each dotted line), indicate whether or not
it is a polyphyletic, para-phyletic, or monophyletic clade.
FIGURE 8.3.

Polyphyletic Monophyletic
Monophyletic Monophyletic

Paraphyletic
Paraphyletic

Polyphyletic Monophyletic
Monophyletic Polyphyletic

Paraphyletic
Paraphyletic
Making a
Cladogram
Imagine you and your fellow lab mates are the exobiologists aboard the starship Beagle. You have
landed on a new planet, and your job is to identify, name, classify, and study the living animals on
the planet. Your team examined a total of six mammal-like animals in the area around the ship
(the animals are depicted below in Figure 8.6). You believe they are all in a monophyletic clade.
You assign all of the species to one family: Equimorphidae.
Let us assume that all six species are alive at the time you landed. )ow you would classify these
species. Write down your ‘classification scheme’ in the box below. In Table 8.3, fill in the boxes
with information; these data could help you determine what type of identification scheme you can
come up with.

Did you use a phenetic approach, a cladistic approach, or perhaps both? Did you lump your species into
‘genera’? Did you make some sort of ‘tree’? Did you think one or more species are ancestral? Why or
why not? What are the shared characteristics that you believe are important? Are these characteristics
homologies? What further information might you possibly want? What about fossil species ?

I’m going to use a phenetic approach, since all the information I’m currently given is purely
based on phenotypes, and I have nothing as to how evolutionarily related these species are. I did
create some sort of tree based on what appears to be primal vs. derived traits. I think the species
with the least amount of traits is ancestral, because other traits would have to be derived. I
believe that phenotypic characteristics shared among species are most important, such as lack of
spots, size of ear, etc. These traits are most likely homologies, since all of these animals appear
to be in the same family and order. I would probably want genetic information about how
closely these animals are actually related. Fossil records would likewise confirm or provide
evidence against my initial phenetic approach based on what traits arose first.

Note that each species is identified by a letter (A–F). Try to determine which species, in your
opin- ion, would be considered the most ancient species. Note which traits would be considered
the an- cestral traits for the clade (the symplesiomorphies) and which traits would be
synapomorphies (new or derived traits).

C
A B

D E F

FIGURE 8.6.

The Equimorphs.
TABLE 8.3. The characteristics of the Equimorphs.
Big Ears/ Spikes on Back/
Animal Tail/No Tail Fangs/ Spots/
Small Ears No Fangs No Spikes No Spots
Big Ears Spikes on Back
Tail Fangs Spots
 A

D Small Ears Fangs No Spikes

Tail Spots
E Big Ears Fangs No Spikes Spots
Tail
F No Tail Small Ears No Spikes
No Fangs No Spots

You are to assign Small Ears No Fangs No Spikes Spots

Tail
names to the six
species in the Tail No Fangs No Spikes No Spots
Small Ears
family
Equimorphidae.
Recall that each species has a specific scientific name
unique to that species, using the process of binomial nomenclature. There are specific rules to
nomenclature:
Here are some words (primarily Latin and Greek roots, prefixes, and suffixes) that you can use to
describe your species.
alba = “white”
alpestris = “from mountains”
altissima = “tallest”
amphi- = “round”
anti- = “against”
arctica = “from the arctic”
arenaria = “from sandy places”
argentea = “silvery”
arthro- = “jointed”
armata = “prickly”
arvensis = “of the field”
aurantiaca = “orange”
aurea = “golden,
yellow”
australis = “from the south”
autumnalis = “of autumn”
azurea = “blue”
barbata = “bearded, hairy”
bicolor = “two colored”
borealis = “from the north”
brad- = “slow”
brev- = “short”
calli- = “beautiful”
campestris = “of the field”
can- = “dog”
-caudatis = “tailed”
-cephalis = “head”
chrysantha = “yellow”
chloro- = “green”
circum- = “around”
co- = “together”
concolor = “same colored”
compacta = “compact”
crass- = “thick”
cyano- = “purple”
dactyl- = “finger” or “toe”
deca- = “ten”
dermis = “skin”
deut- = “second”
dolicho- = “elongated”
di- = “two”
dorsalis = “back”
edulis = “edible”
echino- = “spiny”
endo- = “inside”
epi- = “upon”
equi- = “horse” or “equal”
extra- = “beyond”
feli- = “cat”
foetida = “unpleasant smell”
furc- = “forked”
fuscus = “brown”
gastro- = “stomach”
gigantea = “giant”
glabra = “smooth”
gladi- = “sword”
glacialis = “from cold areas”
glutinosa = “sticky”
grandis = “big”
gymn- = “naked”
hemi- = “half”
hetero- = “different”
hirsuta = “hairy”
hispida = “bristly”
homo- = “same”
humilis = “short”
hydr- = “water”
hyemalis = “of winter”
hypno- = “sleep”
incana = “grey”
infra- = “under”
inodora = “unscented”
inter- = “between”
intra- = “within”
lanata = “woolly”
lateralis = “side”
lineatus = “striped”
major = “greatest”
lutea = “yellow”
macro- = “large”
maculatus = “spotted”
melanus = “black”
maritima = “near the sea”
maxima = “biggest”
micro- = “small”
minima = “small”
minor = “smaller”
mono- = “one”
montana = “from mountains”
-morph = “form”
myri- “many”
nana = “small”
neo- = “new”
nocturna = “nocturnal”
obscurus = “dark”
occidentalis = “western”
orientalis = “eastern”
odont = “tooth”
-oid = “like”
oligo- “few”
ortho- = “straight”
paleo- = “ancient”
ped = “foot”
penta- = “five”
phage = “eat”
platy- = “flat”
pallida = “cream”
palustris = “from marshes”
-phile = “love”
-phobe = “fear”
phoenicea = “purple”
pod = “foot”
poly- = “many”
pratensis = “field”
prot- = “first”
pulverulenta = “dusty”
purpurea = “deep pink”
pygmaea = “small”
quadra- = “four”
quint- = “five”
ram- = “branching”
rect- = “straight”
rivularis = “from near rivers”
rhynch- = “snout”
rubra = “red”
saxatilis = “of rocks”
schizo- = “split”
sex- = “six”
spicata = “spiked”
spinosa = “spiny”
stellata = “starry”
steno- = “narrow”
super- = “beyond”
sub- = “below”
supra- = “above”
sylvestris = “of the forest”
tachy- = “fast” tetra=
“four” tormentosus =
“furry” tri- = “three”
trich- = “hair”
uni- = “one” uro- =
“tail” velutina =
“velvety”
vernalis = “of spring”
variegatus = “variegated”
villosa = “hairy”
violacea = “violet”
viridis = “green”
vulgaris = “common”
ventrus = “belly”
TABLE 8.4. Name the Equimorph species.
Animal Order Family Genus Species
(A–F)

Maculatus
 Equimorpha Equimorphidae

Equimorpha Equimorphidae

A spicata
Equimorpha Equimorphidae
Maculatus macroauris
B
Equimorpha Equimorphidae
Maculatus biodontus
C
Equimorpha Equimorphidae
D Maculatus caudatis
Equimorpha Equimorphidae
Protocaudatis microauris
E
Did you have trouble assigning all species
F
to various genera? Did you attempt to Sinecaudatis microauris
produce several genera (instead of placing
them into one genus)? Do you disagree
with the earlier assertion that all of the species are in one family, and thus try to create two or
more families?

I did have trouble assigning all species to various genera. Eventually, I decided to have three
genera, one based on the common trait of spottiness. I don’t have evidence to suggest otherwise,
so adhering to maximum parsimony, I would have to agree that all species are in one family.
Fill in the cladogram below. Place the letter of the Equimorph in the box provided, and on the
lines to the right, indicate the traits used to separate out each clade.

D F E B C A

Spikes on Back

Big Ears

Fangs

Spots

Tail