We know that "Scientists theorize that the more genetically similar two species are to each other, the more recently they diverged from a common ancestor." The stimulus tells us that raccoons and bears diverged 30 to 50 million years ago. A few million years after that the red panda diverged from the ancestor of today's raccoons and coatis. And 10 million years after this (the divergence of the red panda and the ancestor of today's raccoons and coatis) occurred, the giant pandas diverged from the other bears. So the most recent of these divergences was the giant panda from the other bears.
(A) is incorrect because we have not been given any information relating the giant panda and the red panda. Therefore, we cannot infer this answer choice.
(B) is incorrect because it was never mentioned in the stimulus, and therefore, we cannot infer it.
(C) is incorrect because we have not been given any information on how "the timing of divergence of various species" is determined. Therefore we cannot infer this answer choice.
(D) is CORRECT because raccoons and bears diverged 30 to 50 million years ago whereas giant pandas and bears diverged much more recently. And, according to the scientists, "the more genetically similar two species are to each other, the more recently they diverged from a common ancestor."
(E) is incorrect because we were never given any such information. Therefore, we cannot infer it from the passage.
Hope that was helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions.
CrystalhindiOctober 24, 2013
Thank you! This helped a lot!
kellerman171June 9, 2017
I am having a hard time mapping out the progressions visually. Can you please help and provide a visual timeline? Thank you
MehranJune 11, 2017
Not sure I am understanding your question here but the timeline is as follows:
Raccoons & Bears (30 to 50 millions years)
Red Panda (few million years after raccoons and bears)
Giant Pandas (10 million years after red panda)
Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
