FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
The existence of fossils is one form of evidence supporting evolution. Fossils are remains or traces
of an organism that once existed. The fossilisation process requires the dead organism to be
buried without oxygen. Transitional fossils are intermediary fossils that have traits of both the
ancestral organism and the more recent organism. Relative dating determines the relative order
the fossilised remains were buried. Older fossils are found in deeper layers than more recent
fossils. Absolute dating uses the amount of radioactivity remaining in the rock surrounding the
fossil to determine its age.
EVOLUTION
Support for any theory, including evolution, requires evidence from a range of sources that all point
towards the same explanation. Early evidence for evolution came from the discovery of fossils that
identified extinct species. Evidence of large-scale extinctions reinforced the fact that life forms
change with changing environmental pressures – even if that simply means that many die and only
few survive.
WHAT ARE FOSSILS?
Fossils are the remains or traces (footprints, imprints or fossilised faeces) of organisms from a past
geological age embedded in rocks or other substances by natural processes.
Fossilisation requires the organism, or its traces, to be buried quickly so that weathering and total
decomposition do not occur. Skeletal structures or other hard parts of the organisms that resist
weathering are slower to decompose. These are the most common form of fossilised remains. The
diagrams below show how the process of fossilisation occurs.
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
TRANSITIONAL FOSSILS
Darwin’s theory suggest that life originated in the sea, crawled onto land and then took to the skies
or grew fur. The evidence that links these stages is in the form of TRANSITIONAL FOSSILS, which
are sometimes referred to as ‘missing links’, although the reality is a ‘chain of missing links’ is
required over many generations.
When Darwin first published his theory, he stressed that the lack of transitional fossils was the
largest obstacle to his theory because, at that time, very little was known about the fossil record.
Since then, many excellent examples of transitional fossils have been found, such as
Archaeopteryx which was discovered in the Solnhofen area of Germany just 2 years after Darwin’s
work was published. Archaeopteryx is the earliest and most primitive bird. It has feathers, which
are a feature of all modern bird; however, it also has characteristics such as teeth, claws on its
wings and a long, jointed bony tail. From this, scientists have deduced that birds evolved from a
dinosaur ancestor. The evolution, or change over time, of other species can also be followed by
studying the fossil record.
DATING FOSSILS
It is possible to find out how a particular group of organisms evolved by arranging its fossil records
in a chronological sequence. Relative dating can provide approximate dates for most fossils
because fossils are found in sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rock is formed by layers (or strata) of
silt or mud on top of each other as shown in the diagram on the next page. The deeper the layer,
the older the rock. Each layer contains fossils that are typical for that specific time-period. Old
fossils are buried deeper than younger fossils. Old fossils are buried deeper than younger fossils.
Advances in our understanding of matter have led to technologies that can provide more accurate
time frames for fossils. ABSOLUTE DATING relies on the level of radioactivity in rocks containing
radioisotopes. Every living organism maintains a constant low level of radiation. When an organism
dies, the amount of radioactivity starts decreasing. The time it takes for half the radioactivity to
decrease is called the HALF-LIFE. In one half-life, there is a 50% decrease in the initial
radioactivity level. In the second half-life, the remaining radioactivity decreases by half again,
leaving only 25% of the starting radioactivity level. This will continue until only very small levels of
radioactivity are left. If scientists know the length of an element’s half-life, they can determine how
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
many half-lives have passed by measuring the amount of radioactivity. Therefore, they can
determine the age of the fossil or rock.
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
LIVING FOSSILS
According to fossil records, some modern species of plant and animals are almost identical to
species that lived in ancient geological ages (for example, coelacanths). Living fossils ae existing
species of ancient lineages that have not changed in form for a very long time. This means the
selection pressures for these organisms have not changed and therefore there is no pressure for
the organism to change.
FOSSIL EVIDENCE
Since sedimentary rock is formed with one layer sitting on top of another, it is possible to infer that
the oldest rocks are those at the bottom of the rock layers. So, any fossils found in these layers will
be older than those found in the layers at the top. The dating of rocks has confirmed this.
What palaeontologists (scientists who study fossils in rocks) have discovered is that, in general,
very simple organisms are found in older rock layers and more complex organisms are found in
younger layers. From this, they have inferred the order in which organisms appeared on Earth.
The evidence in the rocks appears to show that all life on Earth today developed from common
ancestors or common groups of organisms in the past. Palaeontologists can trace the development
of organisms and observe the structural changes in species from ancient rocks to younger ones.
For example, it is possible to trace the development of elephants through the ages.
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
The ancestor of the present-day elephants, called Moeritherium, lived on Earth 60 million years
ago. It was similar to a pygmy hippopotamus with no trunk. The skull and teeth of Moeritherium
were similar in structure to present-day elephants with small tusks that grew from incisor teeth
rather than from canines.
After Moeritherium, the variety of organisms in the elephant group increased. There were over 350
different species. One of these evolved into Primelephas, an animal that lived 5 – 7 million years
ago. Primelephas had a set of tusks on both its upper and lower jaw.
Elephant evolution then split into two distinct groups of organisms. One group gave rise to our
present-day African elephants and the other group gave rise to the Asian elephants and
mammoths. Mammoths lived on Earth from 2 million to 8000 years ago.
QUESTIONS
1. What parts of organisms are most likely to be found in fossils? Explain your answer.
Bones
2. How does relative dating work? Why is it used before absolute dating is used?
Relative dating determines the relative order the fossilised remains were buried. It was used before
absolute dating due to the lack of technologies we have to measure radioactivity in fossils
3. Describe what a transitional fossil is.
Fossils that exhibits traits that’s common to both ancestral groups
4. Living fossils have remained relatively unchanged, often for millions of years, while around them
other species have adapted or become extinct. How has this been possible?
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
Living fossils ae existing species of ancient lineages that have not changed in form for a very long
time. This means the selection pressures for these organisms have not changed and therefore
there is no pressure for the organism to change.
5. Will the theory of evolution ever become fact? Explain your answer.
No, as no one was alive to actually experience evolution take place.
6. Fossils were found at four locations as shown below.
Use relative dating to determine which fossil is the oldest.
the grey fossils are the oldest
7. The fossil record below shows the types of organisms that were alive at various times over the
last 600 million years.
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
Use the fossil record to answer the following questions.
(a) How long ago did the first fish appear?
About 400 million years ago
(b) When did coal deposits form? What does this suggest about the environmental conditions at
that time?
About 350 million years ago.
(c) How long have mammals been on the Earth?
About 220 million years ago
(d) What age are the oldest winged insects?
About 260 million years ago
(e) Explain how different organisms have appeared and disappeared on Earth at different times.
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
They appeared due to evolution, where an organism has changed its genotype to best fit its
environment and disappeared due to extinction where the organism population was not able to
survive and adapt to the environment it lived in.
8. Explain why fossils in the lower layers of rock are usually older than ones in higher layers.
Sedimentary rock is formed by layers of silt or mud on top of each other. The deeper the layer, the
older the rock. Each layer contains fossils that are typical for that specific time-period. Old fossils
are buried deeper than younger fossils.
9. Use the diagrams below to answer the questions that follow.
(a) Which of the layers (strata) are the same age?
1,7 and 9; 6 and 8; 2 and 10
(b) Explain how you arrived at your decision in (a).
They have the same picture
(c) Age the layers from oldest to the youngest.
10. Carefully observe the features of the possums shown below.
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
(a) How are the possums similar and how are they different from the common ancestor.
They have similar bone structure, eye colour, fur colour. They differ from fur pattern, tail size, paw
size, eye size.
(b) Suggest reasons for the differences and how they might have come about.
Their differences come from genetic mutations that occur.
11. Carefully observe the graph below showing the decay of carbon-14 and answer the following
questions.
(a) Estimate the time taken for the radioactivity of carbon-15 to reduce by 50 per cent.
About 5500 years ago
(b) On the basis of this graph, what is the half-life of carbon-14?
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
5500 years
(c) Approximately how much radioactivity will be present at:
10 000 years – 23 percent
30 000 years – 10 percent
80 000 years – 3 percent
12. The photo below shows the 150-million-year-old fossilised remains of an Archaeopteryx.
(a) Identify the features that survived the fossilisation process.
Tail, leg, skull, body
(b) Explain why these features survived whereas others did not.
They survived as they were made out of bone
(c) Explain the scientific importance of this fossil.
Fossils act as an evidence that supports the theory of evolution.
FOSSILS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
