Evidences of

Evolution
Grade 11 Biology
 Learning Competencies

explain evidences of evolution (e.g., biogeography, fossil record,

DNA/protein sequences, homology, and embryology)
STEM_BIO11/12- IIIc-g-12

infer evolutionary relationships among organisms using the

evidence of evolution STEM_BIO11/12- IIIc-g-13
Scientists use these foss ils to in fe r th e ch arac te ri st ic s, st ru ct ure
an d li fe st yl e of th es e an ci en t or ga ni sm s
 FOSSILS SHOWED THAT
ORGANISMS FROM THE
PAST LOOKED VERY
DIFFERENT FROM THE
ORGANISMS LIVING TODAY
 Comparative Anatomy

Body structures of organisms may be compared to each other to

investigate more on evolution
• Homologous

• Analogous

• Vestigial
Homologous Structures

These are body structures from different

organisms that may look somewhat similar to
each other or have the same component but
may perform different functions

Homologous structures suggest common

ancestry or shared descent
Homologous Structures
The Pentadactyl Limb
The pentadactyl limb is one of the most well- Scapula
known examples of a homologous structure. It
Humerus
consists of the bones making up the
appendages of tetrapod vertebrates and often
refers to the ‘arm’, although can also refer to
the ‘leg’ as well. Radius

Ulna
Different bones will vary in size, thickness
and orientation dependent on what the Carpals
specific species use this limb for - swimming,
grasping, climbing, digging etc. Phalanges
Homologous Structures Word origins
penta = ‘five’
The Pentadactyl Limb dactyl = ‘finger’

Can you spot the

bones of the
pentadactyl limb?
 Analogous Structures
These may mislead you to think two species are closely related as the
structures appear similar in form, although on closer inspection it can be
found that the structures however similar in appearance, are not a result
of recent common ancestry.

Similarities in shape, size, colour etc can be attributed to the organisms

experiencing similar environmental pressures therefore requiring similar
structures to aid survival.

Examples include:
• Wings of mammals, birds and insects
• Dorsal fins of fish and marine mammals
• Gliding ‘wings’ of placental and marsupial mammals
Analogous structures suggest that organisms of different descent or
close common ancestor have evolved the same structure within the
same function because of the same needs
Vestigial Structures
Anatomical structures that are present but no longer
functional in modern-day organisms are known as
vestigial structures.

Their presence indicates functionality in their

ancestors, so if two modern-day species have the
same vestigial structure, it is evidence for shared
ancestry. Examples include:

• Ratite (flightless • Wisdom teeth

birds) wings • Appendix/Caecum
• Whale pelvis • Coccyx (tailbone)
Vestigial structures were once useful to ancestor organisms but due
to changes in some mechanisms of evolution, these structures no
longer serve their purpose yet are still inherited by descendant
organisms as part of the body plan
 Embryology
Vertebrates are classified as such as they share the following set of
characteristics:

• Hollow dorsal nerve cord - develops into a vertebral column

• Pharyngeal pouch/gill slits
• Notochord - develops into the spinal cord
• Post-anal tail

The more recently and thus closely related two species are, the more
physically similar their embyros will appear, earlier on in development.
 Embryology

• Embryology suggests that organisms that are closely related seems

to have similarities or common traits during their embryonic stage
because they have evolved from a common ancestor

The more recently and thus closely related two species are, the more
physically similar their embyros will appear, earlier on in development.
Embryology

• Embryos shows common

ancestry-Gills slits in
human, chick,fish and
amphibian embryos
 Biogeography

The geographic distribution of organisms on

Earth follows patterns that are best explained
by evolution, in combination with the
movement of tectonic plates over geological
time.
Ex: The embryo of human
showed vestigial structures
such as gill slits and longer
tail bone
Molecular Biology

• Technological advancement provided a new line of knowledge

and evidence to prove common descent or evolution
• New equipment and technique in the field of molecular biology
allowed researchers to map the DNA sequence of different
organisms
 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
STUDIES SHOWED THAT THE
MORE SIMILAR THE DNA
SEQUENCES OF ORGANISMS
ARE, THE MORE RELEVANT
THEY ARE WITH ONE
ANOTHER
Like structural homologies, similarities between biological
molecules can reflect shared evolutionary ancestry. At the most basic
level, all living organisms share:
❖ The same genetic material (DNA) ❖ The same, or highly similar,
genetic codes ❖ The same basic process of gene expression
(transcription and translation)
Developmental biology- Studying the embryological development of
living things provides clues to the evolution of present-day
organisms. During some stages of development, organisms exhibit
ancestral features in whole or incomplete form.
 CYTOCHROME-C

AN IMPORTANT ENZYME FOUND IN

VIRTUALLY ALL ORGANISMS. IT IS
A HIGHLY CONSERVED PROTEIN
WHICH FUNCTIONS IN THE
ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN
SYSTEM OF THE MITOCHONDRIA
WHICH IS NEEDED FOR THE
RELEASE OF ENERGY FROM FOOD.
-
IT ALSO PERFORMS A ROLE IN
APOPTOSIS
 There are 104 amino acids in the
human cytochrome c, 37 of which have
been found at the same
position in every cytochrome c that has
been sequenced. The molecules are
assumed to have
descended from a primitive microbial
cytochrome that existed over two
billion years ago.
 CLADOGRAM

A cladogram is a diagram used to represent a hypothetical

relationship between groups of animals, called a phylogeny. A
cladogram is used by a scientist studying phylogenetic systematics to
visualize the groups of organisms being compared, how they are
related, and their most common ancestors.
 A phylogeny is a hypothetical relationship between groups of
organisms being compared. A phylogeny is often depicted using a
phylogenetic tree.
 A phylogenetic tree is a diagram used to reflect evolutionary
relationships among organisms or groups of organisms. Scientists
consider phylogenetic trees to be a hypothesis of the evolutionary
past since one cannot go back to confirm the proposed relationships.
In other words, a “tree of life” can be constructed to illustrate when
different organisms evolved and to show the relationships among
different organisms
5. Biologists use phylogenetic trees for many purposes, including:
I. Testing hypotheses about evolution
II. Learning about the characteristics of extinct species and ancestral
lineages
III. Classifying organisms
BIOGEOGRAPHY
• Biogeography- the geographic distribution of species in time
and space as influenced by many factors, including Continental
Drift and log distance dispersal.
 Molecular clocks help track evolutionary time- The base
sequences of some regions of DNA change at a rate consistent
enough to allow dating of episodes in past evolution. Other genes
change in a less predictable way.