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Related Flashcards
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AdaptationInherited characteristic of an organism that enhances its survival and reproduction in specific environments.
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AnalogousHaving characteristics that are similar because of convergent evolution, not homology.
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Artificial selectionThe selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to encourage the occurrence of desirable traits.
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BiogeographyThe study of the past and present distribution of species.
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Catastrophism(kuh-tas'-truh-fiz'-um) The principle that events in the past occurred suddenly and were caused by different mechanisms than those operating today. See uniformitarianism.
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Continental driftThe slow movement of the continental plates across Earth’s surfac
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Convergent evolutionThe evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages.
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Endemic(en-dem´-ik) Referring to a species that is confined to a specific, relatively small geographic area.
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Evolutionary treeA branching diagram that reflects a hypothesis about evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms.
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FossilA preserved remnant or impression of an organism that lived in the past.
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Homologous structuresStructures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry.
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Homology(ho¯-mol´-uh-je¯) Similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry.
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Marsupial(mar-su´-pe-ul) A mammal, such as a koala, kangaroo, or opossum, whose young complete their embryonic development inside a maternal pouch called the marsupium.
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Natural selectionA process in which organisms with certain inherited characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than are organisms with other characteristics.
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Paleontology(pa´-le-un-tol´-o-je) The scientific study of fossils.
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Pangaea(pan-je´-uh) The supercontinent that formed near the end of the Paleozoic era, when plate movements brought all the landmasses of Earth together.
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Stratum(strah'-tum) (plural, strata) A rock layer formed when new layers of sediment cover older ones and compress them.
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TraitAny detectable variant in a genetic character.
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UniformitarianismThe principle stating that mechanisms of change are constant over time. See catastrophism.
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Vestigial structureA structure of marginal, if any, importance to an organism. Vestigial structures are historical remnants of structures that had important functions in ancestors.
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