BIOL 121 Lecture 16: Lecture 16
Document Summary
What is a fossil: (latin: fossus = having been dug up, any trace of an organism that lived in the past extinct species (no longer exists) Baron georges cuvier: founder of paleontology, first to use comparative anatomy to develop a system to classify animals. Fixity of species: all modern organisms are unchanged descendants of their ancestors, (cid:862)u(cid:374)altera(cid:271)ilit(cid:455) of spe(cid:272)ies(cid:863) Jean baptist lamarck: french invertebrate zoologist (a contemporary of cuvier, fossils (strong evidence) gradual change (true evolution) 3 important concepts: new species have appeared gradually, all species have changed, but rates of change are unequal, species do not appear after they have become extinct. What is the fossil record: all fossils found & described in scientific literature, fossil record historical sequence of events intimate relationship between variation & evolution. Life gradually changed over time & was still changing. Living things change to be better suited & adapted to their environments. Life evolved from fewer simpler organisms to many complex organisms.
