Multiple choice

Which of the following examples best explain the atavism?

  1. Nictitating membrane

  2. Wisdom teeth

  3. Vermiform appendix

  4. Long, thick and dense hair
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Atavism is the tendency to revert to ancestral type. In biology, an atavism is an evolutionary throwback, such as traits reappearing which had disappeared generations before. Atavisms have been observed in humans as well. Babies have been born with a vestigial tail called "coccygeal process", "coccygeal projection" or "caudal appendage".

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