- Exam
- NEET
- Subject
- Zoology
- Chapter
- Evolution
NEET · Zoology · Evolution
What is the process called when different species evolve in a given...
Options
- AConvergent evolution
- BDivergent evolution
- CAdaptive radiation
- DNatural selection
Correct answer
C. Adaptive radiation
Step-by-step solution
During his journey Darwin went to Galapagos Islands. There he observed an amazing diversity of creatures. Of particular interest, small black birds Later Darwin’s Finches amazed him. He realised that there were many varieties of finches on the same island. All the varieties, he conjectured, evolved on the island itself. From the original seed-eating features, many other forms with altered beaks arose, enabling them to become insectivorous and vegetarian finches . This process of evolution of different species in a given geographical area starting from a point and literally radiating to other areas of geography (habitats) is called adaptive radiation.Darwin’s finches represent one of the best examples of this phenomenon. Another example is Australian marsupials. A number of marsupials, each different from the other evolved from an ancestral stock, but all within the Australian island continent.