Which group is hexapods closely related to according to the Pancrustacea hypothesis?

Which group is hexapods closely related to according to the Pancrustacea hypothesis?

• A. Myriapods
• B. Crustaceans
• C. Echinoderms
• D. Mollusks

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how hexapods fit into arthropod relationships under the Pancrustacea concept. Pancrustacea groups hexapods (insects and their relatives) with crustaceans, suggesting they share a more recent common ancestor with each other than with other major arthropod lineages. This clade, sometimes called Pancrustacea or Tetraconata, is supported mainly by molecular data that compare DNA and protein sequences; these analyses consistently place hexapods and crustaceans as closest relatives within arthropods. There are also notes from developmental biology and some morphological features that hint at a shared origin, even though hexapods have diverged in many ways. The result is a picture in which insects and their kin are the terrestrial branch of a crustacean lineage, rather than being most closely related to myriapods, or to the non-arthropod phyla like echinoderms or mollusks. So, the group hexapods are most closely related to according to the Pancrustacea hypothesis is crustaceans.

The idea being tested is how hexapods fit into arthropod relationships under the Pancrustacea concept. Pancrustacea groups hexapods (insects and their relatives) with crustaceans, suggesting they share a more recent common ancestor with each other than with other major arthropod lineages.

This clade, sometimes called Pancrustacea or Tetraconata, is supported mainly by molecular data that compare DNA and protein sequences; these analyses consistently place hexapods and crustaceans as closest relatives within arthropods. There are also notes from developmental biology and some morphological features that hint at a shared origin, even though hexapods have diverged in many ways. The result is a picture in which insects and their kin are the terrestrial branch of a crustacean lineage, rather than being most closely related to myriapods, or to the non-arthropod phyla like echinoderms or mollusks.

So, the group hexapods are most closely related to according to the Pancrustacea hypothesis is crustaceans.