A scientist discovers a fossil of a new organism that places it in the fossil record. The fossil shows the organism has similar structures to organism acts which appears later in the fossil record. Which conclusion about organisms is most reasonable? The fossils came from the same organism? Or the fossils are from organisms that lived in the same location? The fossils are from an organism that is a descendant of organism acts or the fossils are from an organism that is an ancestor of organism acts?
1 answer
The most reasonable conclusion is that the fossils are from an organism that is an ancestor of organism acts. This is based on the fact that the newly discovered fossil has similar structures to organism acts, which appears later in the fossil record. This suggests that the newly discovered organism may have evolved into organism acts over time.