Modern flamingos derive their pink coloration from pigments stored in

Question

Modern flamingos derive their pink coloration from pigments stored in tiny shrimp that they filter from shallow, salty waters. The shrimp get this pigment from tiny red algae that they filter through their leg bristles. In the Jurassic period (about 200 million years ago), both algae and shrimp were an excellent source of food for any larger animal equipped to sieve them out of the water through an anatomical strainer.

The Argentine pterodactyl possessed a row of thin, bristle like teeth through which it pumped water, straining out any tiny food particles in the process. Thus, because it was able to filter both algae and shrimp, it is reasonable to conclude that the pterodactyl acquired a pink coloration.

Which one of the following statements, if true, strengthens the argument for the existence of a pink pterodactyl?

(A) The Argentine pterodactyl inhabited the shores of shallow freshwater seas in Jurassic South America.

(B) There is a specific type of shrimp that does not eat the algae immediately but carries them on its bristles and eats them later.

(C) If the Argentine pterodactyl did not eat a diet containing red algae, its color was determined by factors other than diet.

(D) The Argentine pterodactyl’s habitat included shallow seas that were particularly rich in red algae and shrimp.

(E) Captive modern flamingos, which do not have access to shallow salty waters from which to filter tiny shrimp, are given a diet that produces a red coloration.

01010011 · Answer

In between the given choices you might get confused between D and A but B is completely out of the given context

hrusher · Answer

please let me know, if i am wrong at any point :
conclusion : it is reasonable to conclude that the pterodactyl acquired a pink coloration.
question type : strengthen the argument

options :
A : out of scope
B: it doesn't affect the argument
E: Captive modern flamingo diet - not related to conclusion

IMO

but don't have solid reason to eliminate C.

BorisBos · Answer

I would say that A isn't out of scope necessarily, but it's definitely incorrect for 2 reasons
1) We don't know (from the text, of course) if there was a large concentration of shrimp and algae in South America during the Jurassic Period. There certainly was a concentration in shallow salty waters, but not necessarily in South America.
2) This is the more important point and I actually didn't notice this until typing out my response. A mentions the pterodactyl inhabited  shallow freshwater .  The text mentions salty water, not freshwater.  If you're unfamiliar, freshwater is not salty and lake/river water.

Your reasoning for B and E being incorrect is fine, I think.
D is the right answer since it mentions they inhabited  shallow seas  which were  particularly  rich in red algae and shrimp.

I would say a solid reason to eliminate C is that we are looking for reasons to strengthen the argument. The statement in C, if true, doesn't do anything to strengthen the argument that the pterodactyl was pink because of its diet. It doesn't even mention that the pterodactyl was pink, it just tells us that the color was determined by other factors, not diet. So based on this statement, if true, the pterodactyl might not even be pink at the end of the day.
Let's say it does say instead that "its pink color was determined by factors other than diet" - since this is how I first interpreted it while reading. Well regardless, this to me would still not strengthen the argument necessarily since it provides no reasonable alternative or reason. It just tells us 'well if it wasn't the food, it must have been something'. It implies that they have no strong reasoning for inferring that the pterodactyl was pink. Which is not very trustworthy IMO.
But even if this did make sense, it's not nearly as strong of an answer as D.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Modern flamingos derive their pink coloration from pigments stored in

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