This fossil snake and this living rat both have a structure in their skull called the quadrate bone. What could explain why both species have a quadrate bone?
The snake and rat are different species, so they must not be related. They inherited the quadrate bone structure from separate ancestor populations.
All species have their own specific body structures, so it is a coincidence that the snake and rat each happen to have the quadrate bone structure.
The snake and rat both share the same ancestor population that had a quadrate bone. They inherited this structure from the ancestor population.
It is impossible to say. Fossils are very old; therefore, we cannot make observations of the snake’s ancestors, and we cannot explain its body structures.
Assuming both the rat and the fossil snake were in the same environment why do you think the rat survived while the snake population died off?
The snake must have mutated into the rats which is why no more snakes exist in this environment.
The rat must have had an adaptive trait in the environment which allowed it to reproduce more and live longer.
Which graph below best depicts an increasing rat population and a dying snake population.
