Which of the following is thought to be the most closely

related to the common animal ancestor?

a. fungal cells

b. protist cells

c. plant cells

d. bacterial cells

Animals are complex multicellular eukaryotes with a recognisable growth model that eat plants and other small animals for nourishment. Three main lineages—Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya— for common animal ancestors can be seen in the phylogenetic tree that was created using the rRNA (ribosomal ribonucleic acid) sequence and other genetic information.

Due to their heterotrophic diets and capacity for motility, the Protista and Animalia creatures are closely connected to one another. Scientists propose that protists serve as a connecting link between plants, animals, and fungi since they all descended from a common protist-like ancestor billions of years ago. Despite being a hypothetical organism, this "protists-like" ancestor may have shared certain genes with current animals and plants.

The fungal cells are unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes but they are not motile.

The plant cells are eukaryotes but they are non-motile and autotrophic.

The majority of bacterial cells are prokaryotes and so they are not closely related to Animalia.