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The facts of evolution come from observational evidence of current processes, from imperfections in organisms recording historical common descent, and from transitions in the fossil record. Theories of evolution provide a provisional explanation for these facts. [1] Each of the words evolution, fact and theory has several meanings in different ...
The history of the camel provides an example of how fossil evidence can be used to reconstruct migration and subsequent evolution. The fossil record indicates that the evolution of camelids started in North America (see figure 4e), from which, six million years ago, they migrated across the Bering Strait into Asia and then to Africa, and 3.5 ...
Fossils provide evidence that accumulated changes in organisms over long periods of time have led to the diverse forms of life we see today. A fossil itself reveals the organism's structure and the relationships between present and extinct species, allowing palaeontologists to construct a family tree for all of the life forms on Earth. [42]
The 3.48 Ga Dresser formation hosts microfossils of prokaryotic filaments in silica veins, the earliest fossil evidence of life on Earth, [70] but their origins may be volcanic. [ 71 ] 3.465-billion-year-old Australian Apex chert rocks may once have contained microorganisms , [ 72 ] [ 5 ] although the validity of these findings has been contested.
The two oldest-known fossil skeletons of bats, unearthed in southwestern Wyoming and dating to at least 52 million years ago, are providing insight into the early evolution of these flying mammals ...
Fossils of organisms' bodies are usually the most informative type of evidence. The most common types are wood, bones, and shells. [57] Fossilisation is a rare event, and most fossils are destroyed by erosion or metamorphism before they can be observed. Hence the fossil record is very incomplete, increasingly so further back in time.
The extinct species Homo floresiensis has long puzzled experts. A new analysis offers clues to the mystery of this tiny oddball’s place on the human family tree.
The fossil has been identified as a new silesaurid, an extinct group of reptiles. Paleontologists debate whether silesaurids were true dinosaurs or possibly a precursor to the creatures that once ...