Construct a character table for the following organisms listed using the derived characters ...

Hey NAZ,

I'm not too sure what it is you need help on. I mean you have all the characteristics you need listed (below). All you have to do is sort them out in a table.

Lamprey – backbone present, no hinged jaw, no limbs, no amnion, does not produce milk, no dorsal fin

Perch – backbone present, hinged jaw present, no limbs, no amnion, does not produce milk, dorsal fin present

Lancelet – no backbone, no hinged jaw, no limbs, no amnion, does not produce milk, no dorsal fin

Frog – backbone present, hinged jaw present, four limbs, no amnion, does not produce milk, no dorsal fin

Wolf – backbone present, hinged jaw present, four limbs, amnion, produces milk, no dorsal fin

Turtle – backbone present, hinged jaw present, four limbs, amnion, does not produce milk, no dorsal fin

Whale – backbone present, hinged jaw present, four limbs*, amnion, produces milk, dorsal fin present

I have included a map that could perhaps help you with the phylogenetic concept.

An outgroup is a species or group of species from an evolutionary lineage that is known to have diverged before the lineage that includes the species we are studying (the ingroup). A suitable outgroup can be determined based on evidence from morphology, paleontology, embryonic development, and gene sequences. An appropriate outgroup for our example is the lancelet, a small animal that lives in mudflats and (like vertebrates) is a member of the Chordata. Unlike the vertebrates, however, the lancelet does not have a backbone.

By comparing members of the ingroup to each other and to the outgroup, we can determine which characters were derived at the various branch points of vertebrate evolution. For example, all ofthe vertebrates in the ingroup have backbones: This character was present in the ancestral vertebrate, but not
in the outgroup.

Hey Naz, do you still need further assistance?