Development Influences Evolution
By Katherine Elizabeth Willmore
A range of factors—including genetics and physics, location and timing—can either constrain an animal's features or amplify changes
This Article From Issue
May-June 2010
Volume 98, Number 3
Page 220
DOI: 10.1511/2010.84.220
In the animal kingdom, specific traits distinguish one group of animals from another. The beaks and feathers of birds, for example, set them apart from mammals and amphibians. Furthermore, variations in those traits differentiate one kind of bird from another. For instance, ducks have long, wide and flat beaks, and geese have shorter, thinner and taller beaks.
(clockwise from left) Biosphoto/Mafart-Renodier; John Cancalosi/Peter Arnold; John Cancalosi/Peter Arnold
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