As Embryos,baleen Whales Have Teeth and Also Have Two Nostrils

question 48

Multiple Choice

As embryos,baleen whales have teeth and also have two nostrils directly above their mouth.Before birth,however,the teeth are reabsorbed,and the nostrils migrate and fuse to become the blowhole.What does this observation suggest about the ancestry of these whales?

• A) Baleen whales descended from an aquatic ancestor that breathed through an elongated snout, much like the modern alligator does today.
• B) Baleen whale ancestors lived in habitats where the potential for mutation was relatively high; early abnormalities during embryonic development are later corrected before birth.
• C) Baleen whales evolved from a terrestrial mammalian ancestor and share common inherited developmental features.
• D) Modern terrestrial mammals are descended from the same marine mammal ancestors that gave rise to modern whales.

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Definitions:

Decreasing Returns

A condition in economics where adding more input (like labor or capital) leads to progressively smaller increases in output.

Long-Run

A term referring to a period of time in economics during which all factors of production and costs are variable.

Short-Run

A period where at least one factor of production is fixed, and firms can only adjust the variable factors.

Diminishing Marginal Returns

A principle stating that as an investment in a particular area increases, the rate of profit from that investment, after a certain point, starts to decrease.