# can anyone help



## serz (May 8, 2006)

I am doing a course as some of you may no and i have hot a brick wall.
One of the questions i need to do says "what is meant by vestigious?"
I have never heard of the word before and i cant find nothing on google or the web on it? 

Does anyone no please. I would be very grateful 
Many thanks in advance : victory:


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## ditta (Sep 18, 2006)

hiya hun try here as i dont know what course your doing so dont know context....
vestigious - Information from Reference.com


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## serz (May 8, 2006)

its a herpatology course hun  thanks for the link

i could only find what you found too on religions. Its really annoying me


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## ditta (Sep 18, 2006)

is it spelt right?:lol2:


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## serz (May 8, 2006)

yeah. thats the first thing i thought ha ha was i being thick  

I think it may be a missprint cos i cant find anything. Think im gunna have to get in touch with the tutor and see what she says 

Thanks anyway hun means a lot


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## diz (Mar 19, 2008)

i think you mean vestigiality, look it up on wikipaedia, i think thats what your after


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## serz (May 8, 2006)

is it.Thanks so much . will see what i can fine on that then


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

*Saved you the google hun hehe and anyone else wondering what it means.....*


*Vestigiality* describes homologous characters of organisms which have lost all or most of their original function in a species through evolution. These may take various forms such as anatomical structures, behaviors and biochemical pathways. Some of these disappear early in embryonic development, but others are retained in adulthood. All such characters can, in turn, be traced to the genes which code for such characters. Some genes no longer code for anything, and can thus be called vestigial themselves, or junk DNA.
*Vestigial structures* are often called _vestigial organs_, although many of them are not actually organs. These are typically in a degenerate, atrophied, or rudimentary condition,[1] and tend to be much more variable than similar parts. Although structures usually called "vestigial" are largely or entirely functionless, a vestigial structure may retain lesser functions or develop minor new ones.[2] However, care must be taken not to apply the label of vestigiality to exaptations, in which a structure originally used for one purpose is modified for a new one. For example, the wings of penguin would not be vestigial, as they have been modified for a substantial new purpose (underwater locomotion), while those of an emu would be, as they have no major purpose anymore (not even for display as in ostriches).
Vestigial characters range on a continuum from detrimental through neutral to marginally useful. Some may be of some limited utility to an organism but still degenerate over time; the important point is not that they are without utility, but that they do not confer a significant enough advantage in terms of fitness to avoid the random force of disorder that is mutation. It is difficult however to say that a vestigial character is detrimental to the organism in the long term - the future is unpredictable, and that which is of no use in the present may develop into something useful in the future. Vestigiality is one of several lines of evidence for biological evolution


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