Use the information and model to answer the following question.
Echippus is an early ancestor to modern horses that lived 40 million years ago. The organism had a short neck, a short tail and feet with four toes. After ten million years, the tail and neck became longer and one of the toes disappeared as evidenced by the fossil of Mesohippus. Evolution of these organisms continued for 20 million years up to the present day causing the organisms to have longer necks and one solid hoof.
Answers
Answer:
D
Explanation:
The fossil record shows that the mammals gradually evolved so that their toes became one large hoof so this variation must have been more useful for survival than many toes. The correct option is 1.
What is fossil record?Paleontologists, archaeologists, and geologists use the fossil record to place important events and species in the correct geologic era.
It is based on the Law of Superposition, which states that the bottom layers in undisturbed rock sequences are older than the top layers.
The neck and toes of early horse ancestors evolved in such a way that the neck and tail became longer and one of the toes disappeared over time. The fossil record demonstrates this, as Echippus had a short neck, a short tail, and four-toed feet.
The fossil record shows that mammals gradually evolved their toes into one large hoof, implying that this variation was more useful for survival than many toes.
Thus, the correct option is 1.
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Your question seems incomplete, the probable complete question is:
Echippus is an early ancestor to modern horses that lived 40 million years ago. The organism had a short neck and tail and also feet with four toes. After ten million years, the tail and neck became longer and one of the toes disappeared as seen in the Mesohippus. Evolution of these organisms continued 20 million years up to the present day with the organisms having longer necks and one solid hoof.
Which explanation can best be supported by the horse fossil record?
answer choices
The fossil record shows that the mammals gradually evolved so that their toes became one large hoof so this variation must have been more useful for survival than many toesThe fossil record shows that the mammals rapidly evolved so that their toes became one large hoof so this variation must have been more useful for survival than many toesThe fossil record shows that the mammals gradually evolved so that their toes became one large hoof so this variation must have been less useful for survival than many toesThe fossil record shows that the mammals rapidly evolved so that their toes became one large hoof so this variation must have been less useful for survival than many toes