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From the point of view of evolution of living organisms, which one of the following is the correct sequence of evolution?
Explanation
Sharks are among the oldest jawed vertebrates, with fossil evidence (scales and early shark relatives) dating back about 450 million years, making them the earliest of the three groups listed [1]. Tortoises (representing reptiles) appear later: tortoises and other reptiles first appear during the Triassic as part of the Mesozoic “age of reptiles” [2]. Mammals, including the line that would give rise to modern carnivores like otters, became prominent much later; the Cenozoic saw the major rise and diversification of mammals after the Mesozoic, placing otter-line mammals well after reptiles and sharks in the evolutionary timeline [3]. Thus the correct chronological order is Shark → Tortoise → Otter.
Sources
- [1] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/shark-evolution-a-450-million-year-timeline.html
- [2] https://www.usgs.gov/youth-and-education-in-science/mesozoic
- [3] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 3: Geological Time Scale The Evolution of The Earths Surface > Cenozoic Era (65 mya to present) > p. 48
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