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Difficulty: MediumEvidence for Evolution: Comparative Anatomy, Embryology, and Vestigial Organs

The presence of a reduced pelvic girdle and vestigial hind limb bones embedded within the muscular body wall of pythons provides structural evidence that snakes descended from quadrupedal tetrapod ancestors.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is true because the rudimentary pelvic bones in pythons represent vestigial structures inherited from four-legged tetrapod ancestors.
The statement is true because vestigial organs such as the pelvic girdle of pythons are homologous to the functional pelvic bones of tetrapods, offering comparative anatomical evidence of evolutionary origin from limbed ancestors.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the anatomical classification of the python's internal limb remnants.
The python pelvic girdle and claw-like spurs are classified as vestigial structures.
Vestigial structures are anatomical features that have lost their original ancestral function during evolutionary adaptation.
2
Evaluate the evolutionary significance of vestigial structures in comparative anatomy.
They demonstrate common ancestry with limbed vertebrates.
Homologous skeletal arrangements, even in reduced forms, indicate that modern legless reptiles share a lineage with quadrupedal tetrapods.

Key Concept

Vestigial Organs in Comparative Anatomy
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Topics

Evidence for Evolution: Comparative Anatomy, Embryology, and Vestigial Organs

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