1. Define analogous and homologous traits and provide an example of each. 2. Dis
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Question
1. Define analogous and homologous traits and provide an example of each.
2. Discuss the factors that influence primate social structure. What similarities and differences can be drawn between nonhuman and human primate social structures?
3. What characteristics define a hominin? Discuss which aspects of your definition can be assessed in the fossil record.
4. Discuss the fossil finds at Dmanisi in terms of their morphology and in terms of the information they provide about the dispersal of hominids out of Africa.
Explanation / Answer
Stromatolites are layered mounds, columns, and sheet-like sedimentary rocks. They were originally formed by the growth of layer upon layer of cyanobacteria, a single-celled photosynthesizing microbe that lives today in a wide range of environments ranging from the shallow shelf to lakes, rivers, and even soils.
6-a durable molecules that can serve as biosignature for early life is CO2 produced from chemical potential gradients of aqueous and ionic hydrogen.
7-first fossil evidence of life occurred in form of Cyanobacterial hopanoids appear at 2.5 Gyr ago.
8-diatomic oxygen O2 is abundant now but not the atmosphere of early earth as comes after the origin of cyanobacteria during the Archean
9- Stromatolites are layered sheet-like sedimentary rocks created a chemical potential gradients of aqueous and ionic hydrogen, thus can be presumed to support the biosynthesis of biomolecules.
10- C12/C13 ratio provided evidence for the life during Archaean era without the necessity of determining molecular identity
1. Define analogous and homologous traits and provide an example of each.
Analogues Traits
They may appear similar but don’t follow same origin, or fundamental structural features. For example, wings of bat birds. The wings of bird are made-up of feathers all along the length of forearms while in bat, it is just an extension of skin.
Homologous traits
The traits or characters, which may appear different but follow same ancestral origins. For example, four limbs of tetrapod. In case of all tetrapod, the four limbs share common feature but act in very diversified manner.
2. Discuss the factors that influence primate social structure. What similarities and differences can be drawn between nonhuman and human primate social structures?
Most primates, along with humans, employ their lives in large social groups or communities, which also helps them to protect scarce food resources. This is a consequence of natural selection in specific habitat. There are various factors which influence social structure. For example,
similarities and differences can be drawn between nonhuman and human primate social structure
Similarities
Differences
However, difference would not be a proper word but following features are more advanced in human
3. What characteristics define a hominin? Discuss which aspects of your definition can be assessed in the fossil record.
Hominin may be defined as a primate of a taxonomic tribe (Hominini ), which includes those species regarded as human, directly ancestral to humans, or very closely related to humans.
Pan are the closest living evolutionary relatives to humans, sharing a common ancestor with humans about four to seven million years ago with the similarity of some 94% in noncoding region of DNA.
4. Discuss the fossil finds at Dmanisi in terms of their morphology and in terms of the information they provide about the dispersal of hominids out of Africa.
Dmanisi is a town important for archaeological site, from where the earliest hominin site is of its kind was found, outside of Africa, dating back to 1.81 Ma. At least five comparatively complete skulls have been found during the last two decades. Those individuals may not have actually lived alongside each other, but apparently occupied this same place within a window of a few thousand years more than 1.75 million years ago.
Small brain, Long face and large teeth were the common features reported in fossils recovered from Dmanisi. And these features are said to be a record of evolution in action. According to Spoor, “They might place the Dmanisi humans somewhere after the split between the earlier Homo habilis and Homo erectus, sometime prior to 1.8 million years ago”.
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