Vestigial Structures
Storyboard Text
- Did you kids know only 10-20% of people can wiggle their ears?
- Aw, I can't!
- I can do it!
- This is a vestigial structure: characteristics that are useless in a species that were useful in ancestors or are useful in similar species'.
- Fifty million years ago, the ancestor of the whale used to walk on land: it had 4 limbs! This was called Pakicetus .
- Deers can move their ears to hear predators. Since we don't have predators, we evolved without that trait.
- Whales are a another example to describe this concept. Let's go to the projector and take a look!
- Hey kids! Can you guys wiggle your ears?
- We don't think so?
- How does that work though?
- Ten million years later, whales only lived in the water. The individuals still had their hind legs even though they didn't need them anymore.
- Now, whales have front flippers as front limbs, but their back limbs are vestigial! Their back legs are simply bones that are near where the hips used to be. Isn't that cool?
- Fossils like Rhodhocetus show evolution. These animals used their limbs to swim in the water.
- If you saw a whale, you wouldn't be able to see these bones! That's so interesting!
- This was so cool! Thanks for teaching us about vestigial structures!
Over 30 Million Storyboards Created
No Downloads, No Credit Card, and No Login Needed to Try!
