Question

Assertion :The embryos of fish, salamander, tortoise, chick and a man, of same age resemble one another closely. Reason: Ontogeny recaptiulates phylogeny.

• A. Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion
• B. Both Assertion and Reason are correct but Reason is not the correct explanation for Assertion
• C. Assertion is correct but Reason is incorrect
• D. Both Assertion and Reason are incorrect

Answer 1

The correct option is A Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion

The early embryos in all the vertebrates exhibit remarkable similarity and it is not easy to differentiate a human embryo from the embryo of chick, lizard, frog or fish in early stages. This can be explained by 'biogenetic law' given by Haeckel. It says ' ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny'. Ontogeny is the life history of the individual starting from ovum and phylogeny is the series of adult ancestors of the individual which must have incurred in the evolution of the group of this individual. It means that an individual during its development briefs its ancestral history.

So, the correct answer is 'Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion'.