By examining the fossilized leaves of any prehistoric plant it is possible to determine the climate in which that specimen grew because the size and shape of a leaf are unique to a given climate. Since the climate at a given location depends on the altitude at that location, it follows that the size and shape of a fossilized leaf also indicates the altitude at which the plant grew. The reasoning in the argument is vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it ['treats the size and shape of a leaf as if they were the only physical characteristics of a leaf that depend on climate', 'relies on a weak analogy between a leaf and the fossil of a leaf as evidence for the claims advanced', 'fails to demonstrate that no species of plant can long survive a violent change in its environment', 'overlooks the possibility that locations at different altitudes can have the same climate']