|Question 8Verbal

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Some researchers posit that species on the South Pacific island of Grande Terre are the surviving members of clades that inhabited other islands in the region before the complete emergence of Grande Terre 37 million years ago. In a 2012 study, however, Hervé Sauquet et al. found that the crown age (the age of the most recent common ancestor of all living and extinct species in the clade) of the clade of southern beeches on Grande Terre is 16.4 million years; Sauquet et al. further found that the crown age of the clade of southern beeches in the South Pacific generally is also approximately 16.4 million years.
As presented in the text, the findings of Sauquet et al. best support which statement?
The southern beeches found on Grande Terre are members of a clade that likely originated outside the South Pacific.
A
The most recent common ancestor of the southern beeches found on Grande Terre lived at least 37 million years ago.
B
The southern beeches found on Grande Terre are not members of a clade that existed before the island completely emerged.
C
The ancestors of most species found on Grande Terre arrived on the island earlier than did the most recent common ancestor of the island's southern beeches.
D