Question

Based on fossil evidence, it appears that the original population of Furred Zee-s split, where a subset of the population moved towards the south and became isolated after an earthquake created a large rift through the continent The southern Zee population evolved over time to have significantly less fur that the original population and have been considered a separate species (Naked Zee-s) . A few of the fossil organisms have indications of fur, suggesting that the ancestral state was furred

What kind of speciation has occurred that led to the two Zee species? Explain your reasoning

Answer 1

The speciation that have taken place which lead to the evolution and emergence of the two different Zee species is Allopatric speciation,which is the type of speciation that is the result of reproductive isolation caused due to geographical barriers that separated the two population.In this case the rift created through the continent due to the earth quake formed geographical barrier that separated a part of the original population which became reproductively isolated from the original population as they cannot interbreed due to geographical barrier.Slowly the new population of Zee accumulated changes according to the new environment developed different characters due to different selection pressure in the new environment completely untouched from the original ancestral population.Thus, Allopatric speciation lead to the divergence of 2 varieties of Zee species from the single original population after the earthquake.