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Evidence of Evolution

Interpreting the Evidence
Fossils
Allows scientists to infer the structures of ancient organisms
Fossils show that organisims that lived in the past were very different than organims alive today
similarites in early development
during early development many organisms share common characterisitic i.e. a tail and a row of tiny slits along their throats
these similarities suggest that vertebrates species are related and share a common ancestor
similarities in body structures
the similarities in bone structure of a dolphin bird and dog suggest they have a common ancestor
homologus structures- similar strucures that related species have inherited from a common ancestor
Inferring species relationships
similarities in dna
the more similar the dna sequences the more closely related the species are
scientists can also compare the order of amino acids in a protein to see how closely related two species are
combining evidence
combined methods increases accuracy of identifying relationships between species
bears and giant pandas are more closely related because they have a more recent common ancestor
branching trees
branching trees- diagram that shows how scientists think different froups of organisms are related
how do new species form
a new species can form when a group of individuals remains isolated from the rest of its species long enough to evolve different traits

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