Ch. 22 Vocab Flashcards
a rock layer formed when new layers of sediment cover older ones and compress them
strata
the evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages
convergent evolution
referring to a species that is confined to a specific, relatively small geographic area
endemic
descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present day ones
evolution
inherited characteristic of an organism that enhances its survival and reproduction in specific environments
adaptations
the study of the past and present distribution of species
biogeography
a structure of marginal, if any, importance to an organism
vestigial structures
the supercontinent that formed near the end of the Paleozoic era, when plate movements brought all the land masses of Earth together
Pangea
a preserved remnant or impression of an organism that lived in the past
fossils
a process in which organisms with certain inherited characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than are organisms with other characteristics
natural selection
structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry
homologous structures
the scientific study of fossils
paleontology
similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry
homology
the slow movement of the continental plates across Earth’s surface
continental drift
a branching diagram that reflects a hypothesis about evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms
evolutionary tree
