Tree of life: Anatomy, evolution, and the role of

homologous structures
By Heather Scoville, ThoughtCo., adapted by Newsela staff on 09.12.19
Word Count 725
Level 1130L

Image 1. A humpback whale jumps in the water. Whales have flippers, which contain homologous structures to human legs and arms. Photo
by: AlbertoLoyo/Getty Images

If you've ever noticed that a human hand and a monkey's paw look similar, then you already know
something about homologous structures. A homologous structure is an organ or body part in one
species that closely resembles an organ or body part in another species. Recognizing homologous
structures can help scientists compare different species. These structures are also helpful for
classifying and organizing the many different kinds of organisms on the planet.

Scientists say these similarities are evidence that life on Earth shares a common ancient ancestor,
and that many or all other species evolved from this common ancestor over time. Evidence of this
common ancestry can be seen in the structure and development of homologous structures, even if
the functions of these structures are different.

Examples Of Organisms

When organisms are closely related, their homologous structures tend to be quite similar. Many
mammals, for example, have similar limb structures. The flipper of a whale, the wing of a bat, and

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the leg of a cat are all very similar to the human arm.

Each of these limb structures has a large upper "arm" bone, and in humans, this bone is known as
the humerus. The lower part of the limb is made of two bones, with a larger bone on one side (the
radius in humans) and a smaller bone on the other side (the ulna). These species also have a
collection of smaller bones in the "wrist" area, and these wrist bones are called carpal bones in
humans. The carpal bones lead into the "fingers" or phalanges.

Even though the limb bone structures may be very

similar in different species, the functions of these
structures vary widely. Limbs in vertebrates can be
used for flying, swimming or walking. Humans use
their arms for various tasks. These different functions
evolved through natural selection over millions of
years.

Homology And Evolution

Carolus Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist. In the

1700s, he created a system of taxonomy. In biology,
taxonomy is the science of naming and categorizing organisms. At that time, Linnaeus classified
species based on their looks, but as time passed and technology advanced, homologous structures
became more important in classifying species on the phylogenetic tree of life. This is an
evolutionary tree that shows relationships among different species.

Linnaeus' taxonomy system placed species into broad categories. The major categories, from
general to specific, are kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. As technology
evolved, it allowed scientists to study life at the genetic level. Using genetic information, scientists
updated the categories to include the category of domains, and this is now the broadest category in
the taxonomic hierarchy. Organisms are grouped by domain according to structural differences in
ribosomal RNA, a protein found in cells.

Scientific Advances

Changes in technology have impacted the way that scientists categorize species. For example,
whales were once classified as fish because they live in water and have flippers. After it was
discovered that those flippers were homologous to human legs and arms, whales were moved to a
part of the tree more closely related to humans. Further genetic research has demonstrated that
whales may be more closely related to hippos.

Bats were originally thought to be closely related to birds and insects. Everything with wings was
put into the same branch of the phylogenetic tree. After more research and the discovery of
homologous structures, it became apparent that not all wings are the same. Even though all wings
are designed to help organisms get airborne, wings can be very different in their structures. While
the bat wing resembles the human arm in structure, the bird wing is very different, as is the insect
wing. Scientists realized that bats are more closely related to humans than to birds or insects. They
then placed bats on a corresponding branch of the tree of life.

Today, homologous structures are widely accepted as evidence of evolution. It wasn't until the
latter half of the 20th century that researchers were able to analyze and compare DNA between

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species. Only then could researchers confirm the evolutionary relatedness of species with
homologous structures.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Quiz

1 Which option would Carolus Linnaeus MOST likely agree with? Which line from the article supports your answer?

(A) Bats and birds should be grouped together in the same category of organism. "At that time, Linnaeus
classified species based on their looks, but as time passed and technology advanced, homologous
structures became more important in classifying species on the phylogenetic tree of life."

(B) Whales and fish are in the same category because they share several homologous structures. "For
example, whales were once classified as fish because they live in water and have flippers."

(C) In order to correctly classify different species of organisms scientists must analyze their DNA. "It wasn't
until the latter half of the 20th century that researchers were able to analyze and compare DNA between
species."

(D) Most animals descended from a common set of organisms. "Evidence of this common ancestry can be
seen in the structure and development of homologous structures, even if the functions of these
structures are different."

2 According to the article, homologous structures are structurally similar but can be used to accomplish different goals.

Which paragraph BEST supports the idea outlined above?

(A) If you've ever noticed that a human hand and a monkey's paw look similar, then you already know
something about homologous structures. A homologous structure is an organ or body part in one
species that closely resembles an organ or body part in another species. Recognizing homologous
structures can help scientists compare different species. These structures are also helpful for classifying
and organizing the many different kinds of organisms on the planet.

(B) Even though the limb bone structures may be very similar in different species, the functions of these
structures vary widely. Limbs in vertebrates can be used for flying, swimming or walking. Humans use
their arms for various tasks. These different functions evolved through natural selection over millions of
years.

(C) Changes in technology have impacted the way that scientists categorize species. For example, whales
were once classified as fish because they live in water and have flippers. After it was discovered that
those flippers were homologous to human legs and arms, whales were moved to a part of the tree more
closely related to humans. Further genetic research has demonstrated that whales may be more closely
related to hippos.

(D) Bats were originally thought to be closely related to birds and insects. Everything with wings was put
into the same branch of the phylogenetic tree. After more research and the discovery of homologous
structures, it became apparent that not all wings are the same. Even though all wings are designed to
help organisms get airborne, wings can be very different in their structures. While the bat wing
resembles the human arm in structure, the bird wing is very different, as is the insect wing. Scientists
realized that bats are more closely related to humans than to birds or insects. They then placed bats on
a corresponding branch of the tree of life.

3 Read the selection from the section "Homology And Evolution."

Linnaeus' taxonomy system placed species into broad categories. The major categories, from
general to specific, are kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species.

The author uses the word "family" to mean?

(A) a parent-child relationship

(B) a collection of homologous structures

(C) a type of genetic material

(D) a group of different species

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

4 Read the following paragraph from the section “Homology And Evolution.”

Carolus Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist. In the 1700s, he created a system of taxonomy. In
biology, taxonomy is the science of naming and categorizing organisms. At that time, Linnaeus
classified species based on their looks, but as time passed and technology advanced,
homologous structures became more important in classifying species on the phylogenetic tree of
life. This is an evolutionary tree that shows relationships among different species.

Which of the following words from the paragraph provides context clues to the meaning of the word "taxonomy"?

(A) botanist

(B) biology

(C) categorizing

(D) structures

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.