Vestigial features are properties of species—they apply to all members of a species Knobloch [ ] , and are inherited by offspring from parents—and thus they can evolve, or rather persist, as generally happens with a vestigial structure, process, or behavior. In the truest most literal sense, then, vestigial features cannot be defined as remnants or residues of events that occur to individual organisms unless they alter the underlying DNA that is expressed in the phenotypic change, whether structural or behavioral.
These underlying and inherited genetic instructions are essential for vestigiality. Although there are central distinctions between evolution and development, ultimately even development—as a whole, and including every developmental process—evolves. Aristotle BC. D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson The History of Animals, trans.
London: John Bell. Chambers R: Vestiges of the natural history of creation. John Churchill, London; Google Scholar. Darwin C: On the origin of species. John Murray, London; Darwin C: The descent of man. Columbia Univ. Press, New York; Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge; Book Google Scholar. Evans N, Iyer P: Incompetence of the foramen ovale in preterm infants supported by mechanical ventilation.
Journal of Pediatrics , 5 — Developmental Cell , 23 6 — An ultrasonographic study. Early Human Development , 53 2 — Gould SJ: Ontogeny and phylogeny. Belknap Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA; Norton, New York; Mayo Clinic Proceedings , 59 1 — Temple Univ. Press, Philadelphia; Jacob F: Evolution and tinkering. Science , — Science , 19— Knobloch IW: Are there vestigial structures in plants? Science , American Journal of Roentgenology , 5 — Mayr E: Teleological and teleonomic: A new analysis.
Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science , 14 1 — Article Google Scholar. Muller GB: Vestigial organs and structures.
In Encyclopedia of Evolution. Edited by: Pagel M. Oxford Univ. Press, New York; — Owen R: Notes on the dissection of a Nubian giraffe.
Transactions of the Zoological Society of London , — Scadding SR: Do vestigial organs provide evidence for evolution? Evolutionary Theory , 5: — Secord J: Victorian sensation: The extraordinary publication, reception, and secret authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. Sellers RM: Wing-spreading behavior of the cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo.
Ardea , 27— Shubin N: Your inner fish: a journey into the 3. Pantheon, New York; BioEssays , 25 2 — Van Valen L: Festschrift. Wiedersheim R: The structure of man: an index to his past history 2e trans.
H Bernard and M Bernard. Macmillan, London; Basic Books, New York; Download references. Two anonymous reviewers supplied many helpful suggestions that greatly improved the writing and organization of this paper. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to Alexander J Werth. Reprints and Permissions. Werth, A. Vestiges of the natural history of development: historical holdovers reveal the dynamic interaction between ontogeny and phylogeny.
Evo Edu Outreach 7, 12 Download citation. Received : 07 February Accepted : 15 April Vestigial structures are often called vestigial organs , although many of them are not actually organs.
These are typically in a degenerate, atrophied, or rudimentary condition, [1] and tend to be much more variable than similar parts.
Although structures usually called "vestigial" are largely or entirely functionless, a vestigial structure may retain lesser functions or develop minor new ones. For example, the wings of penguin would not be vestigial, as they have been modified for a substantial new purpose underwater locomotion , while those of an emu would be, as they have no major purpose anymore not even for display as in ostriches.
Vestigial characters range on a continuum from detrimental through neutral to marginally useful. Some may be of some limited utility to an organism but still degenerate over time; the important point is not that they are without utility, but that they do not confer a significant enough advantage in terms of fitness to avoid the random force of disorder that is mutation.
It is difficult however to say that a vestigial character is detrimental to the organism in the long term - the future is unpredictable, and that which is of no use in the present may develop into something useful in the future. Vestigiality is one of several lines of evidence for biological evolution.
Vestigial structures have been noticed since ancient times, and the reason for their existence was long speculated upon before Darwinian evolution provided a widely-accepted explanation.
In the 4th century BC, Aristotle was one of the earliest writers to comment, in his History of Animals , on the vestigial eyes of moles, calling them "stunted in development". His colleague, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck , named a number of vestigial structures in his book Philosophie Zoologique. Lamarck noted " Olivier 's Spalax , which lives underground like the mole, and is apparently exposed to daylight even less than the mole, has altogether lost the use of sight: so that it shows nothing more than vestiges of this organ.
Charles Darwin was very familiar with the concept of vestigial structures, though the term for them did not yet exist. He listed a number of them in The Descent of Man , including the muscles of the ear , wisdom teeth , the appendix , the tail bone , body hair , and the semilunar fold in the corner of the eye.
Darwin also noted, in The Origin of Species , that a vestigial structure could be useless for its primary function, but still retain secondary anatomical roles: "An organ serving for two purposes, may become rudimentary or utterly aborted for one, even the more important purpose, and remain perfectly efficient for the other Darwin however still often refers to the 'use and disuse' of structures having some role in heredity, with inheritance of acquired characters being treated as an important aspect besides the central force of natural selection.
In , Robert Wiedersheim published a list of 86 human organs that had, in his words, "lost their original physiological significance". Theorizing that they were vestiges of evolution, he called them "vestigial". Later versions of Wiedersheim's list were expanded to as many as human "vestigial organs".
This is why the zoologist Newman stated in the Scopes Monkey Trial that "There are, according to Wiedersheim, no less than vestigial structures in the human body, sufficient to make of a man a veritable walking museum of antiquities.
Vestigial structures are often homologous to structures that are functioning normally in other species. Legacy Society. Science Champions Society. Give a Gift of Stock. Donor-Advised Funds. Employer Matching Gifts. Facebook Fundraisers. Free Memberships for Graduate Students. Teaching Resources. Misconception of the Month. Coronavirus Resources. Browse articles by topic.
Community Outreach Resources. What We're Monitoring. About NCSE. Our History. Our People. Our Financials. Annual Reports. Media Center. Our Partners. Need a Speaker? Our Impact. Our Research. View All Forbes. Financial Times. Washington Post. We support teachers How it Works.
Online Resources. We investigate science education. Donate Our Work We support teachers. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.
Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email.
0コメント