Species Identification

Hypohippus is an extinct ancestor of the modern horse

As you learned about the relationships between diverse organisms in this topic, were you surprised to find that many species have more in common that they may appear to have at first consideration? Now that you know the fins of dolphins and the paws of cats actually come from a shared ancestor, what are other physical traits in living organisms today pique your curiosity? For example, have you ever wondered where the hooves of horses come from? What about the shells of turtles? Or the beaks of birds?

For this Application assignment, select three structural characteristics that you can observe in living organisms today. Then, conduct online research to find that same trait in an ancestor that is now extinct. How has the trait changed throughout the fossil record to the present day?

For each of the structural characteristics, summarize your findings in a paragraph. Before you begin, review the Comparing Structural Characteristics Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit. You will need to use resources outside of this course to complete this assignment, so please submit a Works Cited document with your assignment submission. If you need assistance, visit the Developmental Module for information on citing resources.

Once you have completed your comparison summaries, please submit your work to the dropbox.