B.9A Evidence of Common Ancestry on level – 03
Species that are related live close to one another. There are a few species of marsupials that live in South America and one species in North America, but the vast majority of marsupials are found in Australia.
Marsupials are mammals that are not completely developed when they are born. They continue their development and growth in their mother’s pouch.
Physical barriers like mountains, valleys, and rivers separate groups of the same animal. This isolation from each other can explain how new species can develop from the same population.
Islands are separated from other landforms by oceans. Many islands have living things that are unique to those islands.
The Galapagos Islands, off the west coast of South America, have several species of plants and animals that are not found anywhere else in the world.
Scientists can use fossils and biogeography to explain how similar species live in different parts of the world today.