Question

Name and explain the evolutionary concept represented in the illustration given below:

Answer 1

Hint:Adaptive radiation is a process of evolutionary biology where organisms rapidly diversify from ancient species to a host of new types, especially as changes in the environment provide new resources, create new challenges and open new niches.

Complete answer:
Marsupials are all members of Marsupialia's mammalian subclass. All the marsupials which exist are endemic to Australia and America. A distinguishing feature common to all of these species is that young ones are carried in a pouch. Kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, opossums, Tasmanians, wombats, and extinct thylacines are well-known marsupials. The dunnarts, the potoroos and the cuscus are lesser-known marsupials. Clades from the last shared ancestor of current metatherians are represented by Marsupials. Like other Metatheria mammals, they bring to life relatively underdeveloped young ones, who mostly remain in a pouch in the abdomen. On the Australian continent, approximately 70% of the 334 existing species occur. The remaining 30% are found in America, mainly South America, 13 in Central America, and one in North America, north Mexico.

The given diagram demonstrates adaptive radiation of marsupials in Australia. Australia was isolated from other continents by continental drift. Monotremes and marsupials continued to flourish and diversify in Australia. The Australian geographic isolation was an obstacle against placental mammals from competing with its monotremes and marsupials, which emerged elsewhere at a later period. In other areas of the world where the majority of monotremes and marsupials were extinct, placental mammals were created.

Note: Convergent evolution in evolutionary biology is the mechanism by which species are not closely related to themselves, and by adapting to similar conditions or ecological niches, they acquire similar traits independently.