Evidence of Evolution

Biology 13.
2 Evidence of Evolution
Evidence of
Evolution
Biology 13.2 Evidence of Evolution
Fossil Records Evolution

 Have you ever looked at a series of
maps that show how a city has
developed over time?
 Buildings and streets are added over

time, changed, or destroyed.
 In the same way, fossils of animals

show a pattern of development from
early ancestors to modern day
organisms.
 Fossils provide a record of past life

forms and their stages of evolution.
The age of the fossil shows where
that organism was at that particular
stage of it’s development to what it
now is today.

 Fossils of animals show a pattern of
development from early ancestors to
modern descendents. Fossils are the
most direct evidence that evolution
takes place.
 Recall that a fossil is the preserved

or mineralized remains or imprint of
an organism that lived long ago.
 Fossils therefore provide an actual

record of Earth’s past life-forms.
 Change over time can be found in

fossilized records; species found in
older rocks are different than
species found in newer age rocks.

 After observing differences, Darwin
predicted that intermediate forms
between the groups of organisms
would eventually be found.
 Since Darwin’s time, some of the

intermediate steps have been found;
some have not.
 For example, intermediate steps

have been found between fishes and
amphibians, between reptiles and
birds, and between reptiles and
mammals.
 Today, scientists agree that Darwin’s

theory is the best available
explanation for he biological
diversity on Earth.
 Based on a large body of supporting

evidence, most scientists agree on
the following three major points
1. Earth is about 4.5 billion years
old
2. Organisms have inhabited Earth
for most of it’s history
3. All organisms living today share
common ancestry with earlier
simpler life-forms
Formation of fossils:
 The fossil record, and thus the

record of life on Earth, is not
complete. Many species have lived in
environments where fossils do not
form.
 Most fossils form when organisms are

buried in fine sediments deposited by
wind, water, or volcanic eruptions.
Formation of fossils:
 The environments that are most

likely to cause fossil formation are
wet lowlands, slow-moving streams,
lakes, shallow seas, and areas near
volcanic eruptions.
 The chances that organisms living in

upland forests, mountains, grasslands,
or deserts will die in the right spot to
be fossilized is very low.
 Even if an organism lives in a
environment where fossils can form,
the chances are slim that it’s dead
body will be buried in sediment
before it decays. It is very likely to
be eaten and scattered by scavenges.
 The bodies of some organisms decay

faster than others do.
 For example, a creature with a hard

exoskeleton, like a crab, would have a
better chance of becoming fossilized
than a soft-bodied organism like an
earthworm.
 Because of these reasons, fossil

records will never be entirely
complete. Fossils still present us with
the best evidence that evolution has
taken place however.
 When a fossil is discovered,

paleontologists (scientists who study
fossils) analyze the sediments around
it.
 By radiometric dating techniques

(measuring half lives of surrounding
rocks), paleontologists can arrange
the fossils in order from oldest to
youngest.
 When this is done, orderly patterns

of change through evolution can be
seen clearly.
 At right we see the proposed

evolution of the modern whale.
 Scientists have pieced this evolution

together by looking at series of
fossils and trying to place them in an
order that shows the development.
 Scientists still may disagree on

whether or not a particular
evolutionary path is correct, but as
new fossils are discovered and fill in
gaps, theories are adjusted to
reflect new evidence.
 Sometimes theories are proved, some

disproved, by new evidence.
Anatomy and development:

 Comparisons of the anatomy of different
types of organisms often reveal basic
similarities in body structures even
though the structures functions may
differ between organisms.
Vestigial hip bones in

modern whales show
that whales descended
from creatures that
once walked on land
Anatomy and development:
 Sometimes bones are present in an

organism but are reduced in size and
either have no use or a less important
use than is found in other related
organisms.
 These structures are considered to be

evidence of an organism’s evolutionary
past, and are called vestigial structures.
Vestigial hip bones in

modern whales show
that whales descended
from creatures that
once walked on land
Homologous Structures:
 As different groups of vertebrates

evolved, their bodies evolved
differently. But similarities in bone
structure can still be seen,
suggesting all vertebrates share a
common ancestor.
Homologous Structures:
 In the diagrams at right, you can

see that the forelimbs of
vertebrates are composed of the
same basic groups of bones. We call
these structures homologous.
 Homologous structures are

structures that share a common
ancestry.
 Most scientists believe that the

evolutionary history of organisms is
also seen in the development of the
embryos.
 At some time in their development,

all vertebrate embryos have a tail,
buds that become limbs, and
pharyngeal pouches.
 The tail remains in most adult

vertebrates.
Biological molecules
 The picture of change seen in fossil

records allows scientists to make
predictions that can be tested.
 If species have changed over time,

than the genes that determine the
specie’s characteristics should also
have changed by mutation and
selection.
 As species evolved, one change

after another should have become
part of their genetic instructions.
 Therefore, changes in a gene’s
nucleotide sequence (DNA) should
build up over time.
 This prediction was first tested by

analyzing amino acid sequences of
similar proteins found in several
species.
 If evolution had taken place, than

species that are more recent
ancestors should have more amino
acids in common than ancestors
that are more distant in time on
the evolution scale.
 For example; you would have more

genes in common with your
grandparents than with your great-
great-great grandparents. You are
more closely related to them.

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Biology 13.

Fossil Records Evolution

 Buildings and streets are added over

 In the same way, fossils of animals

Fossil Records Evolution

 Fossils provide a record of past life

Fossil Records Evolution

 Recall that a fossil is the preserved

 Fossils therefore provide an actual

 Change over time can be found in

Fossil Records Evolution

 Since Darwin’s time, some of the

 For example, intermediate steps

 Today, scientists agree that Darwin’s

 Based on a large body of supporting

 The fossil record, and thus the

 Most fossils form when organisms are

 The environments that are most

 The chances that organisms living in

 The bodies of some organisms decay

 For example, a creature with a hard

 Because of these reasons, fossil

 When a fossil is discovered,

 By radiometric dating techniques

 When this is done, orderly patterns

 At right we see the proposed

 Scientists have pieced this evolution

 Scientists still may disagree on

 Sometimes theories are proved, some

Anatomy and development:

Vestigial hip bones in

Anatomy and development:

 Sometimes bones are present in an

 These structures are considered to be

Vestigial hip bones in

 As different groups of vertebrates

 In the diagrams at right, you can

 Homologous structures are

 Most scientists believe that the

 At some time in their development,

 The tail remains in most adult

 The picture of change seen in fossil

 If species have changed over time,

 As species evolved, one change

 This prediction was first tested by

 If evolution had taken place, than

 For example; you would have more

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