Chapter 15 C-Map (Only 18)

Evolution

the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth

Vestigial Structure

anatomical structures that apparently functioned in and ancestor but have since lost most or all of their function

Paleontology

the study of fossils

Extant

still in existence

Strata

the assembly of fossil varieties changed suddenly between different different layers of sediment

Catastrophism

the theory that changes in the earth's crust during geological history have resulted chiefly from sudden violent and unusual event subtopic

Uniformitarianism

stated that the natural process witnessed today are the same process that occurred in the past.

Biogeography

the study of the range and geographic distribution of lifeforms in different places throughout the world, as well as how and when they came to the distributed as they are today.

Natural Selection

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring

Fitness

the reproductive success of an individual relative to other members of a population

Adaption

any evolved trait that helps an organism be more suited to its environment.

Artificial Selection

human-controlled breeding to increase the frequency of desired traits

Fossils

the remains and traces of past life or any other direct evidence of past life

Transitional Fossils

a fossil that exhibits characteristics of both ancestral and derived forms

Homologous

Structures that are anatomically similar because they are inherited from a common ancestor

Analogous

performing a similar function but having a different evolutionary origin, such as the wings of insects and birds

Homeobox

Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

The inheritance of such a characteristic means its reappearance in one or more individuals in the next or in succeeding generations