Q.3 (vii) (a) Define vestigial organs.
(b) Write names of any two vestigial organs in the human body.
(c) Write name of those animals in which these vestigial organs are functional.
Best answer
Answer:
(a) Vestigial organs are degenerated or underdeveloped, useless organs present in an organism, which were well developed and functional in its ancestors. They are an evidence of evolution.
(b) The vermiform appendix and the muscles of the ear pinna. (Also: tail bone (coccyx), wisdom teeth, nictitating membrane.)
(c) The appendix is functional in ruminants and in herbivores such as the rabbit (helps in digestion of cellulose). The ear muscles are functional in monkeys, which can move their ear pinna. (The nictitating membrane is functional in birds and frogs, where it protects the eye.)
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