For example jawless vertebrates appear before jawed fishes, and these appear before tetrapods. The geographical distribution of higher taxa are explicable in terms of geological events such as continental drift. Ecological analogues in isolated regions such as Australian marsupials and placental mammals. This pattern is expected if different modifications occur in different descendents of common ancestors. Phylogenetic relationships are supported not only by functional characters, but also by non-functional ones, such as pseudogenes and neutral characters such as synonymous base pair substitutions.
Many characters display transition series, ie slight stepwise differences, among related organisms.
Molecular evolutionary studies provide evidence of the ways in which new genes, biochemical functions, and genetic regulators of develoment come into existence. The mitochrondria and choroplasts of eukaryotes share DNA sequence homology with bacteria, as predicted by the endosymbiotic theory. 12 Modest evolutionary changes in many characters have been documented within the last century. Selection theory has successfully predicted many phenomenon, such as the patterns of lifes history, behavior, and numerous aspects of the genetic system. The Major Transition In Evolution by professors Smith and Szathmary Oxford University Press, 1999.