From The Classroom To The Real World

Sources  The Sources used during the creation of these blogs are as follows Campbell, Neil A.  Biology : A Global Approach . New York Pearson, 2018. ‌ Telford, Maximilian J., et al. “Phylogenomic Insights into Animal Evolution.”  Current Biology , vol. 25, no. 19, Oct. 2015, pp. R876–R887, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982215009288, 10.1016/j.cub.2015.07.060. ‌

Dear Reader, The following post will talk about the European legless lizard. Evolving from a different lineage of legless lizards than did snakes, the Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus apodus) or Sheltopusik shows vestigiality with small rear leg stubs (something some think of as an adaptation which assists with burrowing) and the skeletal musculature having traces of shoulders and a pelvis. Sadly it was hiding within a branch so the only picture taken from a fellow student is one with its head barely sticking out. Ophisaurus apodus Taken from Biology A Global Approach Phylum: Chordata   Class: Reptilia (8200 species)- paraphyletic as it excludes both birds and mammals  Note-The origin of reptiles lies between 310-320 million years ago in the late Carboniferous period Order: Squamata (8000 species)- Largest order of reptiles consisting of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians. Family: Anguidae (100 species) Genus: Pseudopus (one extant species remains) The lizard inhabits open country...

 Dear Fellow Readers, This post talks about the African lungfish, specifically its classification within the Chordata phylum and its characteristics that demonstrate vestigiality. African Lungfish/ Protopterus annectens Phylum: Chordata Order: Dipnoi Family: Lepidosirenidae Genus: Protopterus Per the name, the African Lungfish is distributed throughout Africa. Being an obligate air breather they are seen in basins and rivers. As of today, there are only seven known species of lungfish, being found in Africa, South America, and Australia. Being abundant since the Triassic geologic period they are thought to be over 250 million years old (phylogenetically speaking). While they do retain marginal teeth and an ossified braincase it has been significantly reduced in size due to vestigiality. This is also visible in something called the cosmine which has been lost in post-Devonian (between ~419-358 million years ago) lungfishes. While called Lungfish they are actually able to live on lan...

 Dear fellow reader, The following is information on the Upside-down jellyfish. Upside-down jellyfish/ Cassiopea xamachana The Upside-down jellyfish swim upside down to single-celled algae that live among their tentacles. The algae require sunlight thus the jellyfish swim upside down to accommodate. They are able to remain upside down due to the underneath suctioning itself to the seabed as a way to stabilize. The reason the jellyfish protects and accommodates the algae to this extent (photosynthetic dinoflagellates) is due to the fact that it produces oxygen for itself and the jellyfish it is attached to. They have a symbiotic mutualistic relationship and are typically found in the Gulf of Mexico in coral reefs and lagoons (warm parts of the western Atlantic Ocean).  Phylum: Cnidaria (10,000)- Includes corals, jellies, and hydras They have a radially symmetrical body (diplobastic) that have a single opening serving as both mouth and anus Class: Scyphozoa  (200)- some sci...

Dear Readers, This post will talk about whether several flatfish observed illustrate convergent evolution or homologous evolution. We will also discuss the difference between sharks and 'ordinary fish' and how they are easily distinguished from one another.  Flat Fish Those visible in the large monumental hall were The European Plaice/ Pleuronectes platessa and Sole/ Solea solea.  European Plaice and Solea Solea Both flatfish come from the same order being Pleuronectiformes. They are both found in similar habitats like the Mediterranean and enjoy burrowing themselves in the sandy or muddy seabed. Since they come from the same order we can hypothesize that both the Common Sole and European Plaice have a common ancestor.  Common Stingray with leopard shark directly above Unlike the two flatfish, Dasyatis pastinaca (Common Stingray) shares the same phylum with the flatfish, however not much else. Diverging into the class Chondrichthyes. Much like the flatfish they can be fou...

Today I went to the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam Through the study of Mollusca, Arthropoda, Amphibians, Cnidaria, Echinodermata, and Vertebrates I related organisms through homology and convergent evolution . Sadly certain areas of the zoo were closed off due to the corona measures so we were unable to see vestigial organs in whales or the several phyla displayed in the specimen cabinets at the beginning.  To begin my visit, I walked into a large monumental hall with a vast amount of aquaria. From Flatfish and sharks to Tropical coral reefs (Echinodermata and Cnidaria) we talked about whether their characteristics were due to convergent evolution or not. I then moved on to a species I found particularly interesting called the Blind Cave Fish . The way it shifts direction before hitting the wall is fascinating.  Also within the Amazon aquatic ecosystem, I found representatives of the Mollusca and Arthropoda phyla however I will not go into too much detail in terms of these two phyla...