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If we accept the hypothesis that dinosaurs, which are ancestral to birds, posses

ID: 26936 • Letter: I

Question

If we accept the hypothesis that dinosaurs, which are ancestral to birds, possessed feathers, which of the following statements could be true? Answer Feathers are an example of adaptation (rather than a pre-adaptation) because they have given birds the ability to fly. Feathers are an example of a pre-adaptation because they give birds the ability to fly but evolved in response to a different selective pressure in non-flying dinosaurs. Feathers are both an adaptation and a pre-adaptation in birds Feathers are neither an adaptation nor a pre-adaptation in birds

Explanation / Answer

Feathers are an example of a pre-adaptation because they give birds the ability to fly but evolved in response to a different selective pressure in non-flying dinosaurs.