Which of the following animal shows adaptive radiation?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Kangaroo
Option (1) Kangaroo — Correct. Australian marsupials evolved from one ancestral stock into many different forms in the same island continent; this is adaptive radiation. The kangaroo is one of these marsupials.
NCERT Extract:
What Is Adaptive Radiation? – “… From the original seed-eating features, many other forms with altered beaks arose, enabling them to become insectivorous and vegetarian finches (Figure 6.5). This process of evolution of different species in a given geographical area starting from a point and literally radiating to other areas of geography (habitats) is called adaptive radiation. Darwin’s finches represent one of the best examples of this phenomenon. Another example is Australian marsupials. A number of marsupials, each different from the other (Figure 6.6) evolved from an ancestral stock, but all within the Australian island continent.”
