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the ratites are a group of flightless birds comprising the ostrich, emu, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwis. all share certain morphological similarities (such as a breastbone without a keel) not found in other birds, but they live on different continents. in the past, some ornithologists regarded their similarities as homoplasies, but they are now thought to be synapomorphies. based on this information, you would conclude that the ratites were once regarded as a group but are now believed to be .

Respuesta :

Based on this information, you would conclude that the ratites were once regarded as a polyphyletic group but are now believed to be monophyletic .

In the field of biology, such organisms that share common characteristics but they might not belong to a common ancestor make up a polyphyletic group.

On the other hand, such organisms that share a common ancestor and are similar belong to a monophyletic group.

Homoplasy can be described as a characteristic in which there is no direct ancestor. Hence, before, the flightless birds such as kiwi, ostrich were grouped into polyphyletic and now they are grouped into monophyletic.

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