Final answer:
The wing of a bird and the arm of a human are homologous structures, inherited from a common ancestor and indicative of a shared evolutionary past.
Correct option is d) Convergent structures
Step-by-step explanation:
The wing of a bird and the arm of a human are examples of homologous structures. These structures are similar in different species because they were inherited from a common ancestor. For instance, bat wings and bird wings have different embryonic origins and are analogous structures because they serve the same function of flight but are not derived from a common ancestor with wings. In contrast, the bones in the front flipper of a whale are homologous to the bones in the human arm, indicating a shared evolutionary past. Such structures are not analogous, as they do not have the same function. Homologous structures are important for understanding phylogenetic relationships among species.
Homologous structures (option b) would be structures derived from a common ancestor and typically have similar underlying anatomy despite different functions. Analogous structures (option a) are structures with similar functions but different evolutionary origins. Vestigial structures (option c) are remnants of structures that had important functions in ancestors but have reduced or lost their original function in the course of evolution.