What is the organizational implication if two organisms only share a high taxonomic rank, such as Kingdom?
Answer
They are less closely related than those sharing a lower rank
The hierarchical structure of taxonomy is designed so that the shared evolutionary history is represented by the rank level shared. Organisms that share only a high-level rank, such as Kingdom Animalia, have a very ancient common ancestor, meaning the specific traits they share are few and broad, indicating a distant relationship. Conversely, organisms that share a lower taxonomic rank, such as Family or Genus, share a more recent common ancestor because they have accumulated more shared, specific evolutionary traits required to fit into that narrower grouping. Therefore, a higher shared rank implies a more distant relationship compared to sharing a lower rank.
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