Question.
Explain the importance of fossils in deciding evolutionary relationships.
Explain the importance of fossils in deciding evolutionary relationships.
solution:
Origin of life on this planet is a result of chemical evolution. It was followed by biological or organic evolution which gave rise to numerous type of living organisms over the age. Some of these organisms became fossilised and are helpful to trace the evolutionary relationship amongst living organisms.
The discovery of some fossils provide missing links between two different groups and indicating their evolutionary relationship. For example, the fossil Archaeopteryx looks like a bird and have teeth in jaws, finger ending into claws, long tail is the reptilian characters. On the other hand, the avian characters include presence of feathers, rounded cranium, forelimbs modified into wings. This fossil provide a strong clue that the birds have evolved from reptiles. Birds are called glorified reptiles.
Origin of life on this planet is a result of chemical evolution. It was followed by biological or organic evolution which gave rise to numerous type of living organisms over the age. Some of these organisms became fossilised and are helpful to trace the evolutionary relationship amongst living organisms.
The discovery of some fossils provide missing links between two different groups and indicating their evolutionary relationship. For example, the fossil Archaeopteryx looks like a bird and have teeth in jaws, finger ending into claws, long tail is the reptilian characters. On the other hand, the avian characters include presence of feathers, rounded cranium, forelimbs modified into wings. This fossil provide a strong clue that the birds have evolved from reptiles. Birds are called glorified reptiles.