Question

Explain the importance of fossils in deciding evolutionary relationships.

Answer 1

Fossils:

Fossils are the preserved remains of plants and animals from thousands of years ago.

Importance of fossils:

1. They provide crucial information regarding the organism.
2. It helps develop connecting links between different groups of organisms and study evolutionary relationships.
3. Tiktaalik roseae is an extinct animal that was discovered in 2004. Its discovery helped predict when the first fish would have ventured onto land.
4. Fossils are key evidence that helps study evolution and the adaptation of different organisms to the environment.
5. It provides the record of how organisms evolved and is represented as the tree of life.
6. Fossils present at the bottom of the rock are simple while the ones which are present at the top are the most recent fossils.
7. This succession revolves around evolution.
8. The fossil record of certain mammals can be studied in a series of evolution by looking into their geological time scale.