A fossil indicates that whales might have started out as small land mammals. This animal was about the size of a wolf and had a diet of meat and fish. While the fossil has the body of a land animal, its head is shaped like a whale with an ear bone that is unique to whales.

Question

Which statement is likely true about the fossil?

(1 point)
Responses

It is a transitional fossil that shows causation.
It is a transitional fossil that shows causation.

It is not a transitional fossil, but it shows causation.
It is not a transitional fossil, but it shows causation.

It is a transitional fossil that shows correlation.
It is a transitional fossil that shows correlation.

It is not a transitional fossil, but it shows correlation.

Answer 1

The most likely true statement about the fossil is:

It is a transitional fossil that shows correlation.

Transitional fossils provide evidence for the evolutionary transition between different groups of organisms, showing characteristics of both ancestral and more derived forms. In this case, the fossil displays traits of both land mammals and whales, indicating a correlation in the evolutionary lineage. However, transitional fossils do not demonstrate direct causation on their own; they serve more to illustrate an evolutionary progression.