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In humans, the vermiform appendix is sometimes called a vestigial structure as it has lost much of its ancestral digestive function.. Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. [1]
Evidence for common descent comes from the existence of vestigial structures. [72] These rudimentary structures are often homologous to structures that correspond in related or ancestral species. A wide range of structures exist such as mutated and non-functioning genes, parts of a flower, muscles, organs, and even behaviors.
Arrows show the vestigial structure called Darwin's tubercle. In the context of human evolution, vestigiality involves those traits occurring in humans that have lost all or most of their original function through evolution. Although structures called vestigial often appear functionless, they may retain lesser functions or develop minor new ones.
'Human Biology and Behaviour: An anthropological perspective (4th ed.). Boston: Little Brown. ISBN 978-0-673-39013-4. (Note: this book contains very accessible descriptions of human and non-human primates, their evolution, and fossil history). Wells, Spencer (2004). The Journey of Man : A Genetic Odyssey. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks.
In many circumstances, the apparently vestigial structure may retain a limited functionality, or may be co-opted for other advantageous traits in a phenomenon known as preadaptation. A famous example of a vestigial structure, the eye of the blind mole-rat , is believed to retain function in photoperiod perception.
This list of fossil sites is a worldwide list of localities known well for the presence of fossils. Some entries in this list are notable for a single, unique find ...
The images of the living OTUs (29 species) were made available in the early 1960s; those of the fossil ones (48 species) later in the decade. These images were copied using xerography . Copies of all OTUs were in the possession of Dr. Paul A. Ehrlich ( Stanford University ), Dr. W. Wayne Moss (Philadelphia Academy of Sciences) and Robert R ...
These three-dimensional fossils create permanent molds of internal structures. The mineralization process helps prevent tissue compaction, distorting organs' actual size. A permineralized fossil will also reveal much about an organism's environment and the substances found in it since it preserves soft body parts.