The functions of the limbs of each of the animals are all different because each animal has adapted to their own environment which result in various adaptations. Even humans, whales, crocodiles, cats, birds, and bats all differ drastically on the biological spectrum, they share many of the same bones and limbs. For example, using the human as a comparison, the other animals also share some semblance of having a humerus, ulna, radius, carpal, metacarpal, and phalanges.
2. Are the bones of the limbs arranged in a similar or in a very different way in each animal?
The bones of the limbs are arranged in a very similar way in each animal because they …show more content…
Does the similarity in bone structure suggest a common ancestry amongst these animals?
The similarity in bone structure does suggest a common ancestry as the formation and arrangement of bones is similar across all the animals. “Homo” meaning same and “-logous” meaning information, homologous structures mean that the animals share a relatively recent common ancestor that had similar or bone structures in their limbs.
4. Offer a possible evolutionary explanation for how the skeletons can be similar but the functions very different in each of the animals.
A possible evolutionary explanation for how the skeletons can be similar but the functions are very different in each of the animals is that responses to environmental stimuli can vary. Though the animals may share one common ancestor, the animals are biologically distinct from each other just by physical appearance alone. Somewhere down the evolutionary line of these animals, fluctuations in the environment unique to the animals caused their homologous structures to be modified accordingly.
Analogous Structures
5. What function do the butterfly and bird wings …show more content…
Survival is the most important goal for all organisms, next to reproduction, and vestigial structures that are no longer advantageous to survival are gradually reduced or removed. Likewise, the cave fish has lost its eyes and ability to see because eyesight is not an important adaptation to life in a deep sea cave. A deep sea cave is devoid of light, so even an organism with eyes would be unable to effectively utilize that body part in almost complete darkness. Instead, the cave fish has evolved so that it no longer relies on its eyes to survive in a habitat that renders eyesight next to