Ostrich wings are vestigial because they are too rudimentary to perform the function for which they evolved in the species’ flying ancestor. Nonetheless, the ostrich uses its wings for other purposes. For example, an ostrich may extend its wings to the side while running, to help maintain balance, and it may spread its wings as part of a threat display. These uses show that evolution by natural selection can sometimes repurpose vestigial structures that have lost the function for which they originally evolved. But whether a vestigial structure remains useless or acquires a new function, it is homologous to the version that retains its original function in other organisms and provides evidence of common ancestry. But are all similarities between different organisms the result of shared ancestry?

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Human Evolution

Human evolution is the process of evolution of humans from early man to anatomically modern humans. The process of evolution in humans leads to the gradual development of traits like bipedalism. Humans are the highly social animals that make them the most advanced animal on Earth.  Human evolution is an outcome of interaction among the following processes: