During a trip to the museum, you come across a display on the gray whale and one of its ancestors. The ancestor whale appears to have nostrils at the front of its skull, while the modern gray whale has nostrils at the top of its skull. If you were to add a transitional fossil to this display, what would its skull look like in terms of nostril placement?(1 point)

Question

During a trip to the museum, you come across a display on the gray whale and one of its ancestors. The ancestor whale appears to have nostrils at the front of its skull, while the modern gray whale has nostrils at the top of its skull. If you were to add a transitional fossil to this display, what would its skull look like in terms of nostril placement?(1 point)

Responses

The transitional fossil would have nostrils at the top of the skull.
The transitional fossil would have nostrils at the top of the skull.

The transitional fossil would have nostrils in the back of the skull.
The transitional fossil would have nostrils in the back of the skull.

The transitional fossil would have nostrils in the middle of the skull.
The transitional fossil would have nostrils in the middle of the skull.

The transitional fossil would have nostrils at the front of the skull.
The transitional fossil would have nostrils at the front of the skull.

Answer 1

The transitional fossil would have nostrils at the front of the skull. This would suggest a gradual shift in nostril placement from the front to the top of the skull, showing the evolution of the respiratory system in whales over time.