QUESTION TEXT: The common ancestors of Australian land- and…
QUESTION TYPE: Paradox
PARADOX: Tree-dwelling kangaroos lost things like grasping tails and other adaptations that were useful for living in trees. Land-dwelling kangaroos lost these adaptations as well.
ANALYSIS: The ancestor of both types of modern kangaroos had adaptations that helped them live in trees. But they didn’t pass them on to modern tree dwellers.
The right answer explains that modern tree dwelling kangaroos come from land kangaroos. Land kangaroos lost the adaptations that helped their ancestors live in trees.
So unfortunately for modern tree dwellers, they didn’t have time to re-evolve prehensile tails and opposable thumbs.
___________
- This shows why opposable thumbs are useful if you live in trees. But this doesn’t explain why tree dwelling kangaroos lost their thumbs.
- This is just an interesting fact about kangaroo size. It doesn’t explain why they have no thumbs.
- This tells us a fact about kangaroo tails, but it doesn’t explain why the tree dwelling kangaroos didn’t keep the even more useful prehensile tails.
- CORRECT. Tree-dwelling kangaroos come from land dwelling kangaroos. Land dwelling kangaroos had lost their opposable thumbs and other adaptations. So the new tree dwelling kangaroos didn’t have any when they want back to the trees.
- This shows that tree-dwelling kangaroos wouldn’t do well on land. It doesn’t explain why these kangaroos lost their tree adaptations.
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