Currently, two extant elephant species (X and Y) are placed in the genus Loxodonta, and a third species (Z) is placed in the genus Elephas. Thus, which statement should be true?
Species X and Y are not related to species Z.
A) Species X and Y share a greater number of homologies with each other than either does with species Z.
B) Species X and Y share a common ancestor that is still extant (in other words, not yet extinct).
C) Species X and Y are the result of artificial selection from an ancestral species Z.
D) Species X, Y, and Z share a common ancestor, but nothing more can be claimed than this

A. Species X and Y share a greater number of homologies with each other than either does with species Z.

Explanation:

In taxonomy,  living organisms are placed into groups according to their similarities.

Genus is a classification group above of species. It consists of species that are closely related.

For the species X and Y to be placed in the same genus, they must be sharing a greater number of similarities or homologies compared to species Z.

Species Z does not have greater similarity with either Species X or species Y

The common example of a zygomycete is black bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifera), a member of the Mucorales. It spreads over the surface of bread and other food sources, sending hyphae inward to absorb nutrients. In its asexual phase it develops bulbous black sporangia at the tips of upright hyphae, each containing hundreds of haploid spores. If the mycelia of complementary mating types are present, the fungus reproduces sexually and produces zygosporangia. Zygosporangia are typically thick-walled, highly resilient to environmental hardships, and are metabolically inert. When conditions improve, however, they germinate to produce a sporangium or vegetative hyphae.