What is marsupial radiation?
Marsupials exhibit adaptive radiation into varieties of animals. Each of which appears to be similar to the corresponding placental mammal. This is called “convergent evolution”. It happens when the two unrelated species develop the same features because they live in similar habitats.
What is adaptive radiation and example?
Adaptive radiation is the relatively fast evolution of many species from a single common ancestor. Adaptive radiation generally occurs when an organism enters a new area and different traits affect its survival. An example of adaptive radiation is the development of mammals after the extinction of dinosaurs.
What is mammal radiation?
‘The radiation of mammals’ outlines the end-Cretaceous mass extinction period 65 mya when over 60 per cent of all living species disappeared. It also describes the Tertiary radiation of mammals through changing climates, and the mammalian evolution on the island continents of Australia and South America.
What animal is an example of adaptive radiation?
In fact, many classic examples of adaptive radiations involve islands or lakes; notable examples include Darwin’s finches of the Galapagos, honeycreeper birds and silversword plants of Hawaii, and cichlid fish of lakes Malawi and Victoria in Africa.
How are marsupials an example of adaptive radiation?
Marsupials. One of the most common examples of the theory of adaptive radiation is the dispersion and diversification of the marsupials (metatherians) into different orders and species. Marsupials have developed from a single ancestor into multiple, diverse forms.
Which one is an example of Australian marsupials?
Wombat (family Vombatidae). The three living species of wombats are marsupial mammals found only in Australia and Tasmania.
What are examples of convergent evolution?
Convergent evolution is when different organisms independently evolve similar traits. For example, sharks and dolphins look relatively similar despite being entirely unrelated.
What was first mammal?
Deep in their bones, all mammals are related. The earliest known mammals were the morganucodontids, tiny shrew-size creatures that lived in the shadows of the dinosaurs 210 million years ago. They were one of several different mammal lineages that emerged around that time.
What is radiation of species?
3.2. 1 Adaptive radiation. Adaptive radiation is a rapid increase in the number of species with a common ancestor, characterized by great ecological and morphological diversity. The driving force behind it is the adaptation of organisms to new ecological contexts.
Are marsupials an example of convergent evolution?
Convergent evolution is well-known and documented in the terrestrial realm. Marsupial and placental mammals have converged to similar morphologies and ecological function (Fig. 5).