Answer: Sexual species rely on interbreeding, asexual ones on morphological and genetic similarity.
- A Asexual organisms rarely receive formal species names from taxonomists in the majority of documented cases
- B Sexual organisms are grouped by habitat type, asexual ones by body size as widely reported
- C The biological species concept applies the same way across all life forms according to most studies
- D Sexual species rely on interbreeding, asexual ones on morphological and genetic similarity
Correct answer: D. Sexual species rely on interbreeding, asexual ones on morphological and genetic similarity
Explanation: The biological species concept (interbreeding populations producing fertile offspring) works well for sexual organisms but cannot apply to strictly asexual ones, which taxonomists instead group using morphological and genetic similarity.
The taxonomic hierarchy narrows from Kingdom (broadest, covering the most organisms but fewest shared traits) down to Species (narrowest, fewest organisms but most shared traits) - every level in between is a progressively more specific subset of the one above it.
Concept context
Biodiversity, taxonomy, binomial nomenclature, the taxonomic hierarchy, and taxonomic aids like herbaria and botanical gardens. The foundational first chapter of NCERT Biology.