Insect wings may have begun to evolve as lateral extensions of the body that dissipated heat for thermoregulation. When they had become sufficiently large, these extensions became useful for gliding through the air. Additional selection resulted in refinement as flight-producing wings. If this hypothesis is correct, modern insect wings would be an example of which of the following?
A) loss of Hox genes in the evolution of new forms
B) mutation
C) exaptation
D) adaptive radiation

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The hypothesis suggests that insect wings initially evolved for a purpose other than flight (thermoregulation) and later became adapted for flight. This is an example of exaptation, where a trait that originally served one function becomes co-opted for another function through natural selection.

Insect Wings May Have Begun to Evolve as Lateral Extensions