48 evidence for evolution

Paleontology

Study of fossils and other clues of past life

Permineralization

Process of minerals slowly replacing living tissue

Petrifaction

Process of permineralization where it pertains to wood

Relative dating

Determines the age of a fossil based on the layer of rock strata

Radiometric dating

Fossil age is determined using the half life of a radioactive isotope

Homologous

Structures that are similar based on shared ancestry

Analogous

Structures that are similar due to comparable selective pressures

Molecular clock

If mutation rate of a gene is known, the timing period of divergence of an ancestral species can be established by comparing genetic sequences

Vestigial

Some homologous structures may become reduced or lose function

Developmental phonology

Evidence of common ancestry can sometimes be seen in their development patterns

Extant species

Current living species in that area

Genetic (molecular) homology

Comparison of dna or proteins can be used to establish evolution relationships

Synteny

Similar patterns of position or order of genes on chromosomes