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15 fun facts about evolution for kids
Did you know that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution caused quite a stir in the 19th century? At the time, many still believed the world and everything in it was created all at once. In On the Origin of Species, Sabina Radeva has retold Darwin’s original work along with her own beautiful illustrations. Here are a few of our favourite facts about evolution.
1. It took Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, 20 years to write and publish his original book On the Origin of Species which explained the process of evolution.
2. No two animals are the same, even if they belong to the same species.
3. There are over 340 breeds of dogs, yet they all come from one kind of wild wolf that existed many years ago.
4. Humans share the same five-fingered bone structure in their hands with lots of other animals that have paws, wings, or flippers, such as lemurs and bats.
5. Many of the pets, farm animals, and garden flowers we see today are the result of human choice. For example, farmers would have chosen to breed the chickens that lay the best eggs, and gardeners would have encouraged the most beautiful plants to grow.
6. The slightest difference in colour or design can help an animal or plant live, survive and reproduce better in the wild. This is known as natural selection.
7. Instinct is another important part of natural selection. For example, most birds know they must travel to warmer places to survive during winter.
8. If animals and plants did not compete to survive, the earth would be covered by the offspring of a single pair.
9. Little changes within one species can add up and create a whole new species.
10. But often these changes happen over thousands of years. So, it’s hard to see evolution happening with our own eyes.
11. Fossils are evidence of extinct species. However, perfect conditions are needed for fossils to form.
12. We are able to see from fossils that dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and dodos lived many years ago. But we’ll never really know all of the weird and wonderful species that previously existed!
13. Although they both live underwater, dolphins evolved from mammals whereas sharks evolved from fish ancestors.
14. Humans, animals, plants, insects, and even bacteria, all descend from the first living things that ever came to be.
15. At one point in time, whales walked on land!