Paleontological “twigs” from our fossil past can help us reconstruct branches on the tree of life
Picture a beautiful, sunny day in your neighborhood park. You are out for a stroll, taking in all the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of being outside under a bright blue sky
As you amble along, your gaze drifts to the ground and you came across a twig, freshly fallen from the canopy of a huge, verdant oak tree overhead. You kneel to the ground, pick up the twig, and glance up at a thick assemblage of branches above you. You might wonder to yourself: what branch did this twig fall from? Could I find the exact spot on the branch it fell off? How would I go about finding that spot on the branch, and how confident would I be that this is the exact spot the twig belonged?
Fragmentary Fossils Help Tell the Whole Evolutionary Story
Picture a beautiful, sunny day in your neighborhood park. You are out for a stroll, taking in all the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of being outside under a bright blue sky
As you amble along, your gaze drifts to the ground and you came across a twig, freshly fallen from the canopy of a huge, verdant oak tree overhead. You kneel to the ground, pick up the twig, and glance up at a thick assemblage of branches above you. You might wonder to yourself: what branch did this twig fall from? Could I find the exact spot on the branch it fell off? How would I go about finding that spot on the branch, and how confident would I be that this is the exact spot the twig belonged?
Fragmentary Fossils Help Tell the Whole Evolutionary Story