Question

Justify that the birds are closely related to reptiles.

Answer 1

Reptiles: Reptiles are organisms that cannot fly. They either crawl or walk on their bellies. Examples include lizards, dinosaurs, crocodiles, etc.

Birds: Birds are organisms that can fly and have wings. Examples include sparrows, pigeons, etc.

Birds are closely related to reptiles due to the following reasons:

1. Evolution of feathers:

• The development of a feature sometimes proves to be useful (functional) during the later stages in the process of evolution in a species.
• Some dinosaurs had feathers but they could not fly.
• The birds, however, have feathers that they can use for flying.
• This means that the birds might have evolved from the organisms like dinosaurs that had feathers but they could not fly.

2. Evidence from fossils-Archaeopteryx :

• The fossils provide the order of evolution of different species over time.
• Archeopteryx is an example of a fossil that has features of both birds and reptiles.
• This fossil has feathers, dinosaurs had such feathers. The birds have feathers.
• The fossil also has a long tail. The reptiles have a tail.
• Therefore, this is an interlink between reptiles and birds. This shows that the birds have evolved from reptiles.

3. Evidence from homologous organs:

• The homologous organs have a similar structure, however, they perform different functions.
• The forelimbs of the lizard (reptile) and the birds share a common basic structure. Although they perform different functions.
• The lizard uses them for walking or climbing whereas the birds use them for flying, the basic structure is similar. This means that they share a common ancestor.