What do the similarities of the bones between different organisms provide evidence for?

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What do the similarities of the bones between different organisms provide evidence for?

Understanding:

•  Evolution of homologous structures by adaptive radiation explains similarities in structure when there are 

   differences in function

    
Comparative anatomy of groups of organisms may show certain structural features that are similar, implying common ancestry

  • Anatomical features that are similar in basic structure despite being used in different ways are called homologous structures
  • The more similar the homologous structures between two species are, the more closely related they are likely to be


Homologous structures illustrate adaptive radiation, whereby several new species rapidly diversify from an ancestral source, with each new species adapted to utilise a specific unoccupied niche 

What do the similarities of the bones between different organisms provide evidence for?

Application:

•  Comparison of the pentadactyl limb of mammals, birds, amphibians & reptiles with different modes of locomotion

    
A classical example of homologous structures is the pentadactyl limb in a variety of different animals

  • Mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles all share a similar arrangement of bones in their appendages based on a five-digit limb 


Despite possessing similar bone arrangements, animal limbs may be highly dissimilar according to the mode of locomotion:

  • Human hands are adapted for tool manipulation (power vs precision grip)
  • Bird and bat wings are adapted for flying
  • Horse hooves are adapted for galloping
  • Whale and dolphin fins are adapted for swimming

The Pentadactyl Limb

What do the similarities of the bones between different organisms provide evidence for?

Why do the bones of different species have similar body structures?

structures are similar because they come from a common ancestor, such as the bones in the forelimbs of mammals. Homologous structures are similarities throughout a group of closely related species.

Why do anatomical similarities such as similar bone structures among different organisms provide evidence for the theory of evolution?

Species may share similar physical features because the feature was present in a common ancestor (homologous structures). Molecular biology. DNA and the genetic code reflect the shared ancestry of life. DNA comparisons can show how related species are.

How do bones provide evidence of evolution?

Key Points. Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the past. Fossils are important evidence for evolution because they show that life on earth was once different from life found on earth today.

What does similar bone structure suggest about two species?

The similar bone arrangement of the human, bird, and whale forelimb is a structural homology. Structural homologies indicate a shared common ancestor.