ShmoopTube

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Here’s your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by similarities, the worst thing that could

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happen to someone who wants to stand out from the crowd. [Girl with pink hair walks past another girl with pink hair]

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Check out the following statement:

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The study of structural similarities before an animal is born is called this.

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And here are the potential answers: Structural similarities are factors that indicate

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species are closely related and may have evolved from a common ancestor. [Monkeys driving a pink car]

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It does not, however, prove that we are all somehow related to the Kardashians.

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We'll get over that crushing disappointment somehow.

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All right, if you chose “A,” then you don’t know a bat’s wing from your left [A man raises his left arm and a bats wing appears underneath]

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arm, both of which happen to be examples of homologous structures.

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They're similar in anatomy, but not necessarily in function.

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While the anatomical similarity part might sound promising, answer A has nothing to do [Hand shaking a bottle of prenatal tablets]

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with anything prenatal.

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So “A” is incorrect.

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Vestigial organs are useless body parts.

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Like the top skin fold on your ear, or your wisdom teeth. [A man with an x-ray of his mouth and an arrow pointing to a wisdom tooth]

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Considering your teeth aren't going to help you figure this question out, we can safely

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eliminate answer C. How about B?

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Well biogeography is a study, but it researches the geographic distribution of plants and animals

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Biogeographers have this intense need to know why birds are rarely seen at the mall. [A bird walking through a store]

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It's mostly because they're so...cheep...

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And that's it for B?

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It's so wrong.

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That brings us to comparative embryology, which is the study of structural similarities [A cracked egg with an embryo inside]

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before an animal is born.

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Ringing any bells?

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Aristotle is recognized as the first person to compare embryos of different species in [Aristotle looking under a microscope]

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an effort to prove that all animals are somehow structurally related.

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The Greek philosopher was also the first to know the correct answer to our question is [Aristotle stood with the letter D]

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“D,” comparative embryology.

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If you chose “D”, you're practically the next Aristotle.

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Or, as we like to think of it, Aristotle 2: Electric Boogaloo. [Aristotle with a guy and girl performing dance moves]

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