A scientist has correctly gone through all the possible steps in a dichotomous key, but has not identified an insect. Which most likely describes why he did not identify the insect?

A dichotomous key identifies organisms by matching their traits to the choices in the key. If the scientist followed every step correctly but reached no identification, the insect may have traits the key does not cover, such as an unknown variation or a new species. The insect would not evolve during the short identification process, and the number of questions alone would not prevent a correct result.

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