1. Convergent Evolution & Vestigial Structures

2. Convergent Evolution  (Comes from the word “converge”)  (“come together” or “meet”)  Produces unrelated organisms that look similar to one another  The same environment will produce similar adaptations in different (unrelated) animals FishMammal Bird

3. Human Vestigial Structures  Vestigial structures – something that no longer does what it was evolved for  On humans:  Ear muscles  Wisdom teeth  Appendix  Tail bone  Goosebumps

4. (Vestigial Structures)  On animals:  Whales and snakes have leg bones  Flightless birds still have wings  Animals with non-functional eyes Reptile Vestigial Structures.aviFlightless Cormorants.avi

5. Vestigial Structures, Continued Dolphin Embryo Hind limb “buds” Polydactyl horse toes Evolution of Horses.avi

6. Vestigial Structures  The presence of a vestigial organ doesn’t greatly affect an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce  (Tiny legbones on snakes don’t help, but they don’t really hurt either)  (Evolving them out isn’t really a “priority”)SnakeHuman