Evidence of Evolution: Biogeography, and Structures

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Questions and Answers

Polar bears and brown bears, though similar, are adapted differently to their environments. What evolutionary evidence does this exemplify?

Analogous Structures
Homologous Structures
Biogeography (correct)
Vestigial Structures

Which of the following best describes analogous structures?

Structures that are present in an ancestor and used to provide a function in common ancestors.
Structures with the same evolutionary origin but different functions.
Structures that have a similar function but different evolutionary origins. (correct)
Structures inherited from a common ancestor which are fully functional.

Bird and insect wings are an example of what type of structures?

Vestigial structures, indicating lost functionality
Homologous structures, indicating shared ancestry
Analogous structures, indicating convergent evolution (correct)
Embryonic structures, indicating conserved development

What is the primary characteristic of homologous structures?

They have similar anatomical structure indicating descent from a recent common ancestor. (D) Signup and view all the answers

The front limbs of mammals and the wings of birds are considered homologous structures. What does this suggest about their evolutionary relationship?

They share a recent common ancestor. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Comparing the anatomy of fossils and fossil skeletons can help determine what?

The evolutionary relationships between species. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Whale evolution features the transition from land animals to ocean animals. The anatomy of whale fossils supports this transition. This would be an example of what?

Homologous Structures (C) Signup and view all the answers

What does the presence of vestigial structures in modern organisms indicate?

The organism shares a common ancestor with organisms in which the structure had a function. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Wings on ostriches are cited as an example of what type of structure?

Vestigial Structure (A) Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes analogous structures from homologous structures?

Analogous structures have different anatomical structures, while homologous structures have similar anatomical structures due to shared ancestry. (A) Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Biogeography

Distribution of fossils or organisms; organisms can be closely related but different or distantly related but similar.

Analogous Structures

Structures that have similar functions and evolved in response to a similar environmental challenge, but have different structures.

Homologous Structures

Structures that have anatomical or embryological similarities indicating descent from recent common ancestors.

Vestigial Structures

Structures that were used to be present in an ancestor and to provide a function in common ancestors.

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Fossil Anatomy

Fossils and skeletons can be compared to determine the evolutionary relationships between organisms.

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Whale Evolution

Whales evolved from land animals to ocean animals, sharing a recent common ancestor and showcasing homologous structures.

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Study Notes

Evidence of Evolution is provided by biogeography. Biogeography is based on the distribution of fossils or organisms. Those organisms can be closely related but different, or distantly related but similar.
Polar Bears and Brown Bears are similar, but adapted to live in different regions: this is an example of biogeography.
Analogous structures have similar function and evolved in response to a similar environmental challenge, but have different structure.
Analogous structures come from different embryonic tissue
Hair & feathers, and bird & insect wings are examples of analogous structures
Homologous structures have anatomical or embryological similarities such as in mammal front limbs and bird wings, which indicate descent from recent common ancestors.
Homologous structures feature similar body parts of ancient species.
Comparing the anatomy of fossils and fossil skeletons helps to determine evolutionary relationships.
Whale evolution exemplifies how the study of anatomy helps to demonstrate evolutionary relationships.
Vestigial structures were once present in an ancestor and/or previously provided a function in common ancestors.
Wings on ostriches are an example of vestigial structures.
Whale evolution demonstrates how whales transitioned from land animals to ocean animals to modern whales.
Whales all come from the same recent common ancestor, illustrating homologous structures.
The study of fossil skeletons demonstrates evolutionary relationships.