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adaptation
Inherited characteristic of an organism that enhances its survival and reproduction in a specific environment.
analogous
Having characteristics that are similar because of convergent evolution, not homology.
artificial selection
The selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to encourage the occurrence of desirable traits.
biogeography
The scientific study of the past and present geographic distributions of species.
convergent evolution
The evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages.
endemic
Referring to a species that is confined to a specific geographic area.
evolution
Descent with modification; the process by which species accumulate differences from their ancestors as they adapt to different environments over time; also defined as a change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation.
fossil
A preserved remnant or impression of an organism that lived in the past.
homologous structures
Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry.
homology
Similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry.
natural selection
A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.
paleontology
The scientific study of fossils.
Pangaea
The supercontinent that formed near the end of the Paleozoic era, when plate movements brought all the landmasses of Earth together.
strata
A rock layer formed when new layers of sediment cover older ones and compress them.
vestigial structure
A feature of an organism that is a historical remnant of a structure that served a function in the organism's ancestors.
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