Which of the following is not evidence for evolution?

Question

Accepted Answer

B, D. 1. First, recall which types of evidence are considered strong, reliable support for evolution by common descent.

2. **Divergent evolution of anatomical structures such as forelimbs** produces **homologous organs**, which share a common structural origin/ancestry — this directly supports the idea of common ancestry, so it **is** valid evidence for evolution.

3. **Paleontological evidence from fossil records** allows scientists to study organisms from different geological time periods, directly tracing evolutionary change over time — this **is** valid evidence for evolution.

4. **Convergent evolution of traits like wings of birds and butterflies**, however, produces **analogous organs** — structures that appear similar simply because unrelated species independently adapted to similar needs, **without** sharing a common ancestor. Since this doesn't demonstrate shared ancestry, it does **not** serve as evidence for evolution in the same way.

5. **Embryological support for evolution as proposed by Ernst Haeckel** (the idea that "ontogeny repeats phylogeny," based on observed similarities in early vertebrate embryos) was later **disapproved** after careful study by **Karl Ernst von Baer**, who showed that embryonic similarities don't hold up as strongly as originally claimed — so this is **not** valid/accepted evidence for evolution.

6. Hence, the answer is **B, D**.