Palaeontologists found fossilised bony plates from one group of fish in four rock layers from a small area.
| Age of rock / million years | Forms of bony plate found |
|---|---|
| 110 | smooth |
| 85 | smooth and ridged |
| 55 | ridged and knobbed |
| 25 | knobbed |
Which conclusion is best supported by these fossils?
The forms of bony plate present in the area changed over time.
Smooth-plated fish became extinct everywhere before the youngest rock layer formed.
Fish inherited new bony plate forms that their parents acquired during life.
Natural selection favoured ridged bony plates over both smooth and knobbed plates.
71 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Biology 6.3 The development of understanding of genetics and evolution, covering 6.3.1 Theory of evolution, 6.3.2 Speciation, 6.3.3 The understanding of genetics, 6.3.4 Evidence for evolution, 6.3.5 Fossils, 6.3.6 Extinction, and 6.3.7 Resistant bacteria. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.