Question

What are vestigial organs? How are they helpful in understanding evolution?

Answer 1

Vestigial organs

1. Vestigial organs are organs, tissues, or cells in a body that are no more functional the way they were in their ancestral form of the trait.
2. It is authentication of evolution and hence, was helpful in explaining adaptation.
3. Such a structure can arise due to gene mutation which causes a change in the proteins.
4. These mutated proteins result in the formation of vestigial structures.
5. Vestigial organs are proof that all living organisms have evolved over time and are also helpful in explaining adaptation.
6. Example- The tail bone in mammals is vestigial.
7. Other mammals use their tails for balance, but when humans began to walk the tail became useless and was converted by evolution to fused vertebrae called the coccyx.