Question

Recapulation theory is suggested by which one of the following?

• A. Human embryo and adult have hair.
• B. The tadpole gills for respiration like fishes but adult frog has no gills.
• C. The young one of bird is ammonotelic, but the adult is uricotelic.
• D. Both B and C.

Answer 1

The correct option is D Both B and C.

The theory of recapitulation, also called the biogenetic law or embryological parallelism often expressed in Ernst Haeckel's phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny". It is a largely discredited biological hypothesis, that in developing from embryo to adult, animals go through stages resembling or representing successive stages in the evolution of their remote ancestors. While examples of embryonic stages show that molecular features of ancestral organisms exist, the theory of recapitulation itself has been viewed within the field of developmental biology as a historical side-note rather than as dogma. So, recapitulation theory explains the tadpole gills for respiration like fishes but adult frog has no gills and the young one of bird is ammonotelic, but the adult is uricotelic. Thus, option D is correct.
But it can not explain human embryo and adult have hair option, as human embryo does not have hair and this theory explains developing from embryo to adult, animals go through stages resembling or representing successive stages in the evolution of their remote ancestors.