Sentence Correction

hi guys

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
oa is B
source og. blue supplement #52

i probably can pick right answer (after four attempts)
my question here,
what is the difference between independent from vs independent of, according to oe both are legitimate idioms, but every one in its own specific case. if possible with examples
and the second
again according oe, rather than makes contrast, and what is purpose of insted of,
if this topic is too long i `ll be glad with any useful link
thanks

For this question, I would say the question tests parallelism more than the idiom itself.

the mammals are...A BRANCH [noun] OF THE MAIN STEM [descriptive phrase]....rather than....A TYPE [noun] THAT DEVELOPED [descriptive phrase]...

(B) is more concise and clear than (C), so I don't think "independent from" vs. "independent of" is the issue here. In fact, I can't remember ever seeing an SC where these two Idioms were tested against each other. Look for a secondary style error, like the wordiness error here.

"Rather than" is used for contrast, you're correct. "Instead of" is used in a similar context, and can be interchangeable.

He wanted to see an action film rather than a comedy.

He wanted to see an action film instead of a comedy.

thank you VivianKerr for quick reply
perhaps, it is og explanation that makes me confused
now i believe that these differences are not important