The Fossil Record
This term refers to the collection of all fossilized remains that scientists have discovered.
What is the fossil record?
The earliest feathers found on dinosaurs were most similar to this part of modern birds.
What is down feathers
Scientists compare these skeletal structures in different species to determine evolutionary relationships.
What are bones?
A cladogram shows how species are related but does NOT show this aspect of their evolution.
What is the amount of change over time?
This type of scientist studies prehistoric life, including fossils and evolutionary history.
What is a paleontologist?
One limitation of the fossil record is that it is this.
What is incomplete?
The presence of feathers in dinosaurs supports the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and these modern animals.
What are birds
The forelimbs of humans, bats, birds, and reptiles all have similar structures, suggesting this.
What is common ancestry?
Unlike a cladogram, an evolutionary tree also provides information about this.
What is the time of divergence between species?
This term describes a species from which other species have evolved.
What is an ancestor?
Fossilized remains provide evidence that supports this scientific theory.
What is the theory of evolution?
Unlike later birds, the first feathered dinosaurs likely used their feathers for this purpose instead of flight (similar to penguins today)
What is insulation or display?
Although bone structures may be similar, the function of these body parts can be this.
What is different?
A short branch on an evolutionary tree suggests that a species evolved at this rate.
What is a faster rate?
A shared predecessor between two species is known as this.
What is a common ancestor?
Scientists use the fossil record to study these relationships between species.
What are evolutionary relationships?
This is one of the primary methods scientists use to compare ancient feathered dinosaurs with today’s birds.
What is anatomical comparison?
Scientists studying evolutionary relationships often look at similarities in bone structure, which are called these.
What are anatomical homologies?
In a cladogram, a common ancestor is represented by one of these points where lines branch apart.
What is a node?
The study of early embryonic development can reveal evolutionary connections because organisms often show these.
What are similarities in development?
The fossil record allows scientists to trace species back to these shared predecessors.
What are common ancestors?
This group of dinosaurs, known for its early feathers, includes species that lived in the Jurassic period.
What is Maniraptora?
The presence of similar bone structures in different species provides evidence for this process over time.
What is evolution?
The common ancestor of a mouse and a chimp in a cladogram had these two traits.
What are fur and mammary glands?
This branch of science combines fossil evidence, anatomical structures, and genetic information to study the history of life.
What is evolutionary biology?