What is the importance of Glossopteris?
They literally reveal how the world we recognise today took shape. Glossopteris was easy to recognise because of its distinctive leaves; the name means “tongue-fern” in Greek, because of its shape. Fossil evidence suggests that the plants probably grew in diverse habitats and came in different forms.
What does the presence of Mesosaurus?
The Mesosaurus fossils tell us that South America, Africa and Antarctica were once connected because it is impossible for these reptiles to swim over the vast oceans and move from one continent to another.
What four places are the fossils of Glossopteris located?
The Glossopteris fossil is found in Australia, Antarctica, India, South Africa, and South America—all the southern continents.
What can plant fossils tell us?
Fossils provide evidence. They give us clues to past life on Earth. They tell us that life on Earth has changed over time. Fossils in younger rocks look like animals and plants that are living today.
How are fossils used as evidence for evolution?
Fossils are important evidence for evolution because they show that life on earth was once different from life found on earth today. Paleontologists can determine the age of fossils using methods like radiometric dating and categorize them to determine the evolutionary relationships between organisms.
What are the six types of evolution?
Terms in this set (6)
- Convergent Evolution. The evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages.
- Divergent Evolution. When two or more species sharing a common ancestor become more different over time.
- Co-Evolution.
- Reverse Evolution.
- Microevolution.
- Macroevolution.
What are the pattern of evolution?
There are three main patterns of species evolution. Convergent evolution occurs when dissimilar species gradually become more similar. Divergent evolution occurs when closely related species gradually become very different. This most familiar form of evolution occurs when species compete with each other for resources.
Is inbreeding a mechanism of evolution?
inbreeding increases homozygosity. In essence, inbreeding takes alleles from heterozygotes and puts them into homozygotes. inbreeding itself does not cause evolution, because allele frequencies do not change in the population as a whole. Instead, most loss-of-function alleles exist in heterozygous individuals.