The Five Evidences of Evolution

SB5: Students will evaluate the role of natural selection in the

development of the theory of evolution.
Support for Evolution

 1 ) The fossil record

 Fossils provide a record of species that lived long ago.
 Fossils show that ancient species share similarities with species
that now live on Earth.
Evidence of Evolution
 2) Anatomical Evidence
 A) Derived traits are newly
evolved features, such as
feathers, that do not appear in
the fossils of common
ancestors.
 B) Ancestral traits are more
primitive features, such as
teeth and tails, that do appear
in ancestral forms.
 C) Homologous structures are
anatomically similar structures
inherited from a common
ancestor.
 D) Analogous structures
can be used for the same
purpose and can be
superficially similar in
construction, but are not
inherited from a common
ancestor.
E) Vestigial Structures
 Structures that are the
reduced forms of functional
structures in other organisms
 Evolutionary theory predicts
that features of ancestors that
no longer have a function for
that species will become
smaller over time until they
are lost.
Evidence of Evolution

3) Comparative Embryology

 Vertebrate embryos
exhibit similar structures
during the early phases of
development.
Evidence of Evolution

4) Comparative Biochemistry

 Organisms have
similarities in DNA that
scientists use to classify
them.
5) Geographical Distribution
 The distribution of plants
and animals that Darwin saw
during his South American
travels first suggested
evolution to Darwin.
 He noticed that animals and
plants that were on the same
islands had evolved similar
traits but they still were
more similar to organisms
from their native
country/island.
 Picture of a English rabbit and Mara