Darwin/Wallace Theory of Evolution

    Darwin and Wallace were two mid-1800's professors who studied living organisms and fossils, and each came to the same conclusion independent of the other: Each organism in a specie is slightly different from the others, each organism can pass on characteristics to its offspring by reproduction, and that not all organisms survive long enough to reproduce. However, Darwin was the first to publish his works in the book "Origin of Species", so he gets all the credit. His theory, called  "natural selection" or simply put as "the theory of evolution", states that traits of certain animals might allow them to survive easier; a snowshoe hare's white fur allows it to camouflage in the snow and keeps it warm; a zebra’s stripes in the dappled safari hides it from preditiosr; or a giraffe's long neck lets it to eat leaves off higher branches. The difference between a trait and a adaptation is that an adaptation is what happens over a long time; a bird might develop stronger stomach muscles to digest meat; or a deep-water fish might develop a phosphorous light to attract food; while a trait is something within the species of a deep water fish with the light, or the bird with the strong stomach muscles. A trait is something that some families have, while others do not; it just happens, like blue eyes or green eyes on a human, or a bird might have a harder or stronger hooked beak, or a deep-water fish might have bigger teeth or a brighter "head-light", but the most obvious is a giraffe’s neck. If a tree's leaves on an Africa plain where higher up than normal, the giraffes' who had the trait of a long neck, they would survive; and the short necked ones would die. When the only giraffes left were the 'long' necked ones, they would go along with their business, until one day the tree's leaves where higher, and the whole process repeats itself again until the giraffes are the way they are today. When the remaining giraffes reproduce, they would pass on their trait to their offspring. Because the environment “selects” the creatures that live in it, not all creatures survive. Below is an image of two giraffes with long necks, and one with a shorter neck.

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