Evidence for Evolution Flashcards
What are fossil succession?
Fossils found in a consistent order only in rocks of a particular age
How does fossil succession prove evolution?
If evolution is true then ancestral species would appear before the species they evolved from in the fossil record.
What are fossils that show the link between major groups of species called?
Eg: link between reptiles and birds
Transitional fossils
What is structural morphology?
Study of body structures and their relationships with other species
How does structural morphology prove evolution?
Through presence of homologous structures based on common ancestory
What does homologous structures refer to?
Around same number and position of bones in major species groups
Eg: All mammals have save limb bone structure
How else does structural morphology support evolution?
Not bone structures
Through vestigial structures
What are vestigial structures?
Remnants of structures/organs that served a function in ancestral species but little/no function to modern day animal
How do vestigial structures prove evolution?
They show evolutionary relationships as species from same category have similar structures despite different environmental selection pressures
What are analogous structures
Organisms distantly related would evolve similar structures due to similar selection pressures.
Same function but evolve independantly
What is conversion evolution?
When unrelated species have undergone conversion evolution to develop same features due to same selection pressures.
What type of structures does convergent evolution produce?
Analogous structures
What type of structures does divergent evolution produce?
Homologous structures
