[Campbell Biology P.64] According to the text, what do the anatomical similarities among th... | Practice Question

According to the text, what do the anatomical similarities among the forelimbs of a bat, human, horse, and whale suggest about their evolutionary history?

  • A: They evolved independently to serve similar functions through convergent evolution.
  • B: They are vestigial structures with no current function, indicating past adaptations.
  • C: They share a common architectural pattern inherited from a prototype mammalian ancestor.
  • D: The differences in their structures are purely random and not subject to natural selection.

Explanation

The text explains that 'all mammalian forelimbs are anatomical variations of a common architecture' and that 'the shared anatomy of mammalian limbs reflects inheritance of the limb structure from a common ancestor—the 'prototype' mammal from which all other mammals descended.' This is a classic example of homologous structures, which provide strong evidence for descent with modification from a common ancestor.