Lesson 3: Evidence of Common Ancestry

Lesson 3:
Evidence of common ancestry

Open Ended

What is the difference between the whale and the hippopotamus?

Anthracotheres

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Both have the same ancestry

Multiple Select

Analyze the question and answer:

Which conclusions are supported by the Evolution of Whales diagram? Select three answers

• Some descendants of Anthrocotherium are now extinct.

• Baleen whales and toothed whales have a common ancestor.

• The skull of Dorudon is more similar to that of Ambulocetus than that of Rodhocetus.

• Over millions of years, whales evolved to look very different from their ancestors.

• Toothed whales lived 45 million years ago.

Open Ended

How do you think scientists infer the evolution of the whale?

Evidence of Evolutionary Relationships

Evolutionary relationships are inferred based on evidence from the fossil record. They are also inferred from similarities in the bodies of living organisms, similarities between living and fossilized organisms, and similarities between the embryos of different types of organisms.