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evolution
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major evolutionary events
Why don't humans have tails?
How Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution
evolution of the horse human lineage homologies of vertebrate forelimbs
The video thumbnail image shows a brown-speckled bird perched on a branch, singing with an open beak.
Brian Greene asks Richard Dawkins: Does God exist?
Darwin: On the Origin of Species British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace
For Students
Charles Darwin
evolution summary
Quizzes
greylag. Flock of Greylag geese during their winter migration at Bosque del Apache National Refugee, New Mexico. greylag goose (Anser anser)
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evolution: Media

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Videos

Why don't humans have tails?
Scientists have narrowed the answer down to a single genetic mutation.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
How Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution
Overview of Charles Darwin's life, with a focus on his work involving evolution.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Nicku/Dreamstime.com; © Ke77kz/Dreamstime.com; Courtesy, Biodiversity Heritage Library
Why don't birds have teeth?
Birds descended from dinosaurs, but they don't have their ancestors' bite.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Brian Greene asks Richard Dawkins: Does God exist?
Brian Greene and Richard Dawkins discussing their notions of God in the context of...
Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Watch Earth's continents move, from 650 million years ago to 250 million years in the future
A time-lapse representation of Earth changing through geologic time, from the late...
Video: Adapted from C.R. Scotese, The University of Texas at Arlington
Evolution and diversity in Galapagos finches
The 14 species of Galapagos finches differ from each other mainly in beak structure...
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Where did human evolution begin?
Learn about the Australopithecus genus.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Know how the Galapagos finches from Charles Darwin's specimen collection helped him in the formulation of his theory of evolution, particularly the woodpecker finch
Learn about the Galapagos finches, particularly the woodpecker finch (Camarhynchus...
Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
See how game theory applies to the peacock's tail evolution
Learn how game theory applies to the evolution of the peacock's tail.
Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
How evolution reveals the differences between humans and apes
Learn about human evolution.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © anne sarfina agustina dimyadi/Dreamstime.com
Hear psycholinguist Steven Pinker outlining the evolution of several unique traits in humans as compared with other species
Psycholinguist Steven Pinker outlining uniquely human traits.
Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

major evolutionary events
The geologic time scale from 650 million years ago to the present, showing major...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
evolution of the horse
Evolution of the horse over the past 55 million years. The present-day Przewalski's...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
human lineage
Five hominins—members of the human lineage after it separated at least seven million...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
homologies of vertebrate forelimbs
Homologies of the forelimb among vertebrates, giving evidence for evolution. The...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Darwin: On the Origin of Species
Title page of the 1859 edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by...
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-95224)
British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, detail of a painting over a photograph; in the National Portrait...
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London
German biologist August Weismann
August Weismann, German biologist and one of the founders of the science of genetics.
The Bettmann Archive
Michelangelo: The Creation of Adam
The Creation of Adam, detail of the ceiling fresco by Michelangelo, 1508–12;...
SuperStock
Scopes Trial
William Jennings Bryan (lower left, with fan) and Clarence Darrow (center right,...
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
point mutation
The effect of base substitutions, or point mutations, on the messenger-RNA codon...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Hardy-Weinberg law
The Hardy-Weinberg law applied to two alleles.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
types of natural selection
Three types of natural selection, showing the effects of each on the distribution...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
light gray peppered moth (Biston betularia)
A light gray peppered moth (Biston betularia) and a darkly pigmented variant...
From the experiments of Dr. H.B.D. Kettlewell, University of Oxford; photographs by John S. Haywood
dark coloured peppered moth (Biston betularia)
Against the background of a lichen-covered oak tree, a darkly pigmented peppered...
From the experiments of Dr. H.B.D. Kettlewell, University of Oxford; photographs by John S. Haywood
red deer stags (Cervus elaphus)
A pair of red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) competing for possession of a...
Stefan Meyers GDT/Ardea London
Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata)
Members of a group of Japanese macaques groom each other. Grooming is a type of altruistic...
© bigy9950/stock.adobe.com
liger
A liger, the result of a mating between a male lion and a female tiger in a captive...
Sally Anne Thompson/Animal Photography Partnership
adaptive radiation in Galapagos finches
Fourteen species of Galapagos finches that evolved from a common ancestor. The different...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
genetic differentiation
Genetic differentiation between populations of the fruit fly Drosophila willistoni.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
parallel evolution of marsupial and placental mammals
Parallel evolution of marsupial mammals in Australia and placental mammals on other...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
morphological evolution
Morphological evolution in a lineage of brachiopods, presented as an illustration...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
marine family diversity
The diversity of marine animal families since late Precambrian time. The data for...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
steps in the evolution of the eye in living mollusk species
Steps in the evolution of the eye as reflected in the range of eye complexity in...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
two phylogenies based on the amount of change in macromolecules
(Left) Amount of change in the evolutionary history of three hypothetical living...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
phylogeny
Phylogeny based on differences in the protein sequence of cytochrome c.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
evolutionary history of the globin genes
Evolutionary history of the globin genes.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
evolutionary rates in proteins
Three proteins with very different evolutionary rates: fibrinopeptides (very fast),...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Haeckel, Ernst: evolutionary scheme
Ernst Haeckel's evolutionary scheme presented in the form of a tree. From The...
© Photos.com/Thinkstock
timeline of life on Earth
Over hundreds of millions of years, life spread through the seas and over Earth's...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Figure 6: Evolution of the chordates.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
human evolutionary pathways
Possible pathways in the evolution of the human lineage.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Figure 5: Significant events in plant evolution.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
turtle shell evolution
Broad-ribbed bony structures likely evolved to provide early turtles with more stability...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Eliana Tobin
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin leaning against a column on the veranda of Down House in 1881.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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