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Prepared by Raajeswari
Rajendran
Currently,
systematists use
Morphological,
biochemical,
and molecular
comparisons to
infer
evolutionary
relationships
Younger stratum
with more recent
fossils
Older stratum
with older fossils
(f) Insects
preserved
whole in
amber
Evolutionary theory
Provides a cohesive explanation for many kinds of
observations.
Charles Darwin, who came up with the Theory of Natural
Selection, observed that evolution is a process of descent with
modification where characteristics present in an ancestral
organism are altered by natural selection in its descendants
over time as they face different environmental conditions.
As a result, related species can have characteristics with an
underlying similarity even though they may have very
different functions.
Such similarity resulting from common ancestry is known as
homology.
Divergent evolution
2. Convergent evolution
3. Parallel evolution
1.
Homologous structures indicates that birds, frogs, crocodiles, bats and whales are related as tetrapods; mammalian forelimbs are
homologous structures that indicate humans, cats, whales and bats descended from a common ancestor.
Human
Cat
Whale
Bat
Marsupial mole
Mole
Eutherian mammals
Deer mouse
Mole
Marsupial mole
Sugar
glider
Flying squirrel
Wombat
Woodchuck
Tasmanian devil
Kangaroo
Wolverine
Patagonian cavy
Prepared by Raajeswari
Rajendran
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Panthera
Genus
Felidae
Family
Carnivora
Order
Class
Phylum
Kingdom
Domain
Panthera
pardus
Mammalia
Chordata
Animalia
Eukarya
Species
Panthera
Family
Panthera
Mephitis
Canis
Canis
Lutra lutra
pardus
mephitis
familiaris
lupus
(European
(leopard) (striped skunk)
otter) (domestic dog) (wolf)
Genus
Order
Felidae
Mephitis
Lutra
Mustelidae
Carnivora
Canis
Canidae
Leopard
Domestic cat
Common ancestor
Wolf
Leopard
Common ancestor
Domestic cat
In cladistic analysis
Clades are defined by their evolutionary novelties.
A shared primitive character
Is a homologous structure that predates the branching of a particular clade
from other members of that clade
Is shared beyond the taxon we are trying to define
A shared derived character
Is an evolutionary novelty unique to a particular clade
Lamprey
Tuna
Salamander
Turtle
Leopard
TAXA
Lancelet
(outgroup)
CHARACTERS
Hair
Hinged jaws
Turtle
Salamander
Tuna
Lamprey
Lancelet (outgroup)
Leopard
Hair
Amniotic egg
Four walking legs
Hinged jaws
Vertebral column
Lancelet
(outgroup)
CHARACTERS
Lancelet
(outgroup)
Lamprey
Bass
Frog
Turtle
Leopard
TAXA
Lamprey
Bass
Vertebral
column
(backbone)
Hinged jaws
Four walking
legs
Amnion
Hair
Vertebral
column
Frog
Hinged jaws
Turtle
Leopard
Hair
Lancelet
(outgroup)
Lamprey
Bass
Frog
Turtle
Leopard
CHARACTERS
TAXA
Vertebral
column
(backbone)
Hinged jaws
Four walking
legs
Amnion
Hair
Lancelet
(outgroup)
Lamprey
Bass
Vertebral
column
Frog
Hinged jaws
Turtle
Leopard
Hair
Bacteria
Eukarya Archaea
Symbiosis of
chloroplast
ancestor with
ancestor of green
plants
Symbiosis of
mitochondrial
ancestor with
ancestor of
eukaryotes
Possible fusion
of bacterium
and archaean,
yielding
ancestor of
eukaryotic cells
Last common
ancestor of all
living things
2
3
1
4
Origin of life