How do vestigial structures support the theory of common ancester?
1 Answer
vestigial organs or structures are used to show that present organisms are related to older more primate organisms.
Explanation:
One example often used is the appendix. Rudimentary animals have an advanced appendix to help with the digestion of grasses and other vegetation. Humans have a very small appendix which is suppose to show that the Humans had a common ancestor with organisms like large apes that have a larger more advanced appendix.
The problem with this argument is to determine if a vestigial organ has lost its functions. Vestigial organs are supposed to be relicts of a past function in a more primate organism. The appendix was once thought to have no useful function in human beings. It is now known that a properly functioning appendix serves several useful functions, involving the immune system and the maintenance of healthy flora and funa in the digestive system.
