Heredity                                           Evidence from Connecting Links
All organisms on earth possess a genetic             Connecting Links     Between groups
system that is based on the replication of a         Virus                living and
                                                                          non-living organism
long, complex molecule called DNA. This
                                                     Euglena              plants
mechanism allows for adaptation and                  (Protozoa)           and animals
evolution over time, also distinguishing             Balanoglossus        invertebrates
characteristics of living things.                    (Chrodata)           and chordates
                                                     Peripatus            arthropods
                                                     (Anthropoda)         and annelids
                                                     Neopilina            annelids
                                                     (Mollusca)           and molluscans
                                                     Protopterus          fishes
                                                     (Lung fish)          and amphibians
                                                     Chimaera             cartilaginous
                                                                          and bony fishes
                             THEORIES OF EVOLUTION
Lamarckism (Lamarckian inheritance)
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was a French scientist       1. A characteristic which is used more and
who developed an alternative theory of                 more by an organism becomes bigger and
evolution in 1801 and 1809. His theory                 stronger, and one that is not used
involved two ideas:                                    eventually disappears
                                                   2. Any feature of an organism that is
                                                       improved through use is passed to its
                                                       offspring.
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