AP BIOLOGY

EVOLUTION

EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
The blind mole rat is a close relative of other rats. However, mole rats live underground for their entire lives. As a result, their eyes have evolved into useless structures. Presumably, mole rats will not have eyes at all in the distant future. What type of structures are the mole rat’s eyes?
A
vestigial structures
B
selective structures
C
analogous structures
D
homologous structures
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Certain mammals are able to detect magnetic fields, but where the sense originates from has long remained elusive.

Detailed explanation-2: -Naked mole rats possess a number of adaptations that they have acquired through many years of living underground. These adaptations range from having very poor eyesight, to having strategically placed body hair, to being able to survive hypoxic conditions in a low-oxygen environment.

Detailed explanation-3: -(Inside Science)–The eyes of an African mole rat may not be great for seeing, but they can help it detect magnetic fields, a new study finds. The ability to sense magnetic fields, known as magnetoreception, is found in all major groups of vertebrates.

Detailed explanation-4: -These eyes can’t see much at all, only really being able to detect the difference between light and dark. “They do not orient by vision, ” zoologist and lead author Kai Caspar told New Scientist. “Vision is more or less completely unimportant for them."

There is 1 question to complete.