81 results found

Search Results for: ancestors

Mammalian Ancestors

Humans are mammals, the most successful taxonomic class of organisms to colonize the Earth. The word mammal derives from the... Read More

Divergent evolution

Divergent Evolution Definition Divergent evolution refers to the process by which interbreeding species diverged into two... Read More

Phylogenetics

Phylogenetics Definition Phylogenetics is the scientific study of phylogeny. It studies evolutionary relationships among... Read More

Arthropod

Arthropod Definition What is an arthropod? An arthropod is an invertebrate living organism characterized by the presence of... Read More

Life

Life Definition Life is a characteristic of a living organism that distinguishes the latter from a dead organism or a... Read More

Analogous

In evolutionary biology, the meaning of analogous is “having similarities in functions but different evolutionary... Read More

Endosymbiotic theory

A eukaryotic cell is distinct from a prokaryotic cell by the presence of membrane-bound cellular structures called... Read More

Mātauranga Māori and Science

By: Maria Victoria GonzagaIn the previous lesson, we learned about the various methods used in measuring... Read More

Muscles of the Apes – a thwack on human muscle evolution

Summary: A recent finding suggests that apes do have the muscles for bipedalism, vocal communication, and facial... Read More

Animal

Animal Definition An animal (plural: animals) refers to any of the eukaryotic multicellular organisms of the biological... Read More

Ancestors

1. One from whom a person is descended, whether on the fathers or mothers side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a... Read More

Ecology & Biodiversity: New Zealand Flora & Fauna

New Zealand is known for its unique biodiversity, caused by its remarkable geography and geologic history. Breaking away... Read More

Fragmentation

Fragmentation Definition What is fragmentation? In general, fragmentation refers to the state or the process of breaking... Read More

Microbe

Microbe Definition What is a microbe? How do we define microbes?  Microbes refer to microorganisms that cannot be seen by... Read More

Homology

In biology, homology refers to similarities caused by shared ancestry between two structures or genes from distinct species.... Read More

Arthropods

There are over two million species of arthropods, who initially arrived on Earth in the middle of the Cambrian period.... Read More

Analogous structures

Analogous Structures Definition In evolutionary biology, analogous structures are biological structures having similar or... Read More

Geological Periods

Precambrian Times (Most Ancient) All time before life existed, Earth was still a volatile environment, though the origins... Read More

The Hominids

Although humans in today's world are the most advanced species on the planet, we previously shared the exact same genetic... Read More

Darwin and Natural Selection

Reviewed by: Mary Anne Clark, Ph.D.In the 19th century, a man called Charles Darwin, a biologist from England,... Read More

New Zealand’s Unique Fauna

By: Maria Victoria GonzagaIn the previous lesson, we learned about the high biodiversity of New Zealand and how... Read More

Population Growth and Survivorship

By: Maria Victoria GonzagaPreviously, we learned about biodiversity and endemism. Now, let's look at the... Read More

Convergence

Definition noun (evolutionary biology) The evolutionary process in which the organisms evolve bodily parts that are... Read More

Chordata

Chordata Definition What is Chordata? Chordata is the phylum of the animal kingdom that includes a large number of animal... Read More

Human

Human Definition A human is a bipedal hominin characterized by having a higher and vertical forehead compared with earlier... Read More

Natural selection

Natural Selection Definition What is natural selection in biology? Natural selection is defined as a process in nature... Read More

Chlorophyll

Why are most plants green? Have you ever had the same question? Perhaps, you’ve been told that the plants are green... Read More

Vestigial

Vestigial (organ) is a degenerate organ or structure or physical attribute that has little to no function in the species but... Read More

Evolution

Evolution Definition Evolution is defined as a change in the genetic composition of a population over successive... Read More

Fish

While insects and similar types of organisms strived to occupy land, the sea was teeming with life aiming to secure their... Read More

Charophyta

Charophyta is a taxonomic group (a phylum) comprised of green algae that live predominantly in freshwater habitats. Members... Read More

Camelid

Camelid Definition A canelid refers to any of the even-toed ungulates of the family Camelidae, e.g. camels, llamas,... Read More

Synapsid

Any member of the Synapsida clade of animals is referred to as a synapsid. They are believed to have descended from the... Read More

Animal Water Regulation

Homeostatic control, a set environment, and how evolution and natural selection drives a species to adapt to its environment... Read More

Subspecies

subspecies A group somewhat lessdistinct than speciesusually are, but based on characters more important than those which... Read More

The Evolutionary Development of Multicellular Organisms

The beginning of the Cambrian era saw a widespread arrival of multi-cellular organisms, particularly in the form of sponges.... Read More

Primitive Animals

Incorrect taxonomic classifications deemed organisms to be either animals or plants, in the Plantae or Animalia kingdoms... Read More

Mother

mother 1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child. 2. That which has produced or... Read More

Insects

To learn more about arthropods, look at the previous tutorial.The Class Insecta of the Arthropoda Phylum is by far the... Read More

The Dinosaurs

Everyone has heard about the dinosaurs. No doubt one of the reasons why is because of their size, another being the fact... Read More