why do the three species have similarities and differences in their body structures, and how can Xiao use the structures to determine if the new fossil is more closely related to hippopotamus or green iguanas?

A synapomorphy is a trait that has been inherited from the same ancestor, this trait enables to establish a relation of homology between two or more species; while a homoplasy is an analog structure that doesn't have homology.

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keshavgandhi04 keshavgandhi04 · Answer 2 · 2022-06-07T03:40:13+02:00

Xiao can use these structures to form a similarity matrix which enables to distinguish between synapomorphies and homoplasies.

What is similarity matrix?

Similarity matrix is defined the elements measure pairwise similarities of objects in which the greater similarity of two objects, the greater the value of the measure.

A synapomorphy is a trait which has been inherited from the same ancestor, this trait validate to establish a relation of homology between two or more species, whereas a homoplasy is an cognate structure that does not have homology.

Fore information regarding synapomorphy, visit:

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