Question

Sharks, whales, and dolphins share similar features such as body shape and the position of fins. However, sharks have gills for breathing, while whales and dolphins have lungs. These differences indicate that the organisms share a common ancestor for Whales also possess a vestigial pelvic bone. The presence of the pelvis bone may indicate that whales ____. THE OTHER BLANK IS legs inside their bodies 2.evolved from organisms have legs in the future​

A) Lost
B) Developed
C) Retained
D) Regressed

Answer 1

The vestigial pelvic bone in whales indicates that they have lost the functional legs they once had, showing an evolutionary transition from land-dwelling ancestors to a marine lifestyle. The correct answer is A) Lost.

Step-by-step explanation:

The presence of a vestigial pelvic bone in whales suggests that these marine mammals share a common ancestry with land-dwelling creatures that had legs. The correct choice for the blank stating that whales possess a vestigial pelvic bone, which may indicate that whales ____, is A) Lost. Whales do not have functional legs inside their bodies anymore. Instead, whales have evolved from organisms that once had legs, and the presence of a pelvic bone is evidence of their terrestrial ancestry.

Vestigial structures, like the pelvic bone in whales or wings on flightless birds, are remnants of a common ancestor. These structures have lost their original function over time due to evolutionary changes. In the case of whales, their bodies adapted to life in the water, eventually leading to the reduction and loss of the limbs associated with land locomotion. As both mammals and fish adapted to marine lifestyles, they developed analogous body shapes, but this mimicry occurs because of convergent evolution—not because of a recent common ancestor.