Chapter 30, Problem 10STP

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The group of modern reptiles close to the dinosaurs.

Introduction:

The cladogram is a pictorial representation of the group of organisms that share an ancestral relationship. The cladogram is used for the study of the phylogenetic and comparison of different organisms.

Explanation of Solution

The given cladogram represents that turtles, tuataras, crocodiles, dinosaurs and birds share the ancestral relationship. In a cladogram, the organism placed closely to one another are most closely related. Here, dinosaurs are closely placed with crocodiles and birds. Hence, the reptile closely related to the dinosaurs are crocodiles.