OG 143

143. Recently discovered fossil remains strongly suggest that the Australian egg-laying mammals of today are a branch of the main stem of mammalian evolution rather than developing independently from a common ancestor of mammals more than 220 million years ago.
A. rather than developing independently from
B. rather than a type that developed independently from
C. rather than a type whose development was independent of
D. instead of developing independently from
E. instead of a development that was independent of
Choice B, the best answer, correctly uses the construction mammals ... are a branch... rather than a type, in which the terms compared by rather than are grammatically parallel nouns. Choices A and D fail to parallel branch with another noun, instead following rather than or instead of with the verb phrase developing independently from.... In C, the expression a type whose development was independent of a common ancestor states the opposite of the original point_that the type of mammal mentioned was thought to have developed independently of the main stem of mammalian evolution, but still to have descended from a common ancestor. Choice E repeats the error of C, further straying from the intended meaning by referring to the type as a development.

我想问的是C的解释是什么意思啊？？？

In C, the expression a type whose development was independent of a common ancestor states the opposite of the original point_that the type of mammal mentioned was thought to have developed independently of the main stem of mammalian evolution, but still to have descended from a common ancestor.