Antonio Donlucas LariosGeology March 7/Thursday 9:00 a.m. Vestigial structures and evolutionVestigial structures are organs that are degenerated, atrophied or in an imperfect state or form (Miller). These organs are important in showing evolution because they are useless limbs that, at one point in our ancestry, were useful for our daily functions. As noted in the article on livescience.com, the function of these vestigial organs eventually stops helping the host and, as such, ceases to function (Miller). Vestigial structures help us trace evolution because they show how species in the animal kingdom changed over time. The appendix for example is present in vertebrate herbivores, so at one point human ancestors probably had a very herb-based diet (Miller). Another example is that of the hind legs of whales (Miller). They show that at one point, whales were land-based, possibly amphibious, creatures that decided to return to sea life. The hind legs are completely useless for today's whale, as is the appendix for humans, but it shows that at some point in our timeline, our ancestors...