LAMARCKISM

• Rejected fixity
• Proposed a theory of evolution which is attractive but it was eventually rejected because of
the way inheritance works

Adaptation and Specialization

• Lamarck noticed that organisms adapted to a particular niche had well developed specialised
organs. For example a carnivore will have long canine teeth to grip its prey

Vestigial organs

• Small non-functional organs (vestigial organs). For example, the appendix in humans, the
internal hind limbs of whales and the internal legs of some species of snakes
• Comparative anatomy showed that these organs resembled those which were much more
developed, with particular functions, in other species

The Law of Use and Disuse

• Proposed that if an organ is used a lot it will develop and strengthen

• If it is not used it will atrophy (degenerate)
• Known as the law of use and disuse

The Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

• If an organism developed a characteristic feature through adapting to a new way of life

during its lifetime, it would pass this on to its offspring. The giraffe’s neck is an excellent
example to study this. As the giraffe’s ancestors searched for a richer food supply they
stretched to reach higher branches in trees. Thus their stretched bodies were passed onto their
offspring.
Lamarck Vs Darwin

• Lamarck’s theory required adaptation to create new variations. This was followed by the
inheritance of these characteristics
• Darwin’s theory requires random hereditary variation first, followed by selection of the
variations
• The argument was over when Mendel’s laws of genetics were rediscovered at the end of the
19th century
• Variations are due to hereditary traits passing from one generation to the next in predictable
frequencies

Disproving Lamarck

• Characteristics acquired during the lifetime of a parent are not passed onto the offspring
• An athlete who develops a large muscle mass through training does not have children who
already possess this large muscle mass
• Ernst Haeckel, in an attempt to disprove Lamarckism, is said to have cut off the tails of mice
for several generations
• The babies born from this line of tailless mice still grew tails as long as their ancestors
• This was not exactly a fair test as the mice had not stopped using their tails in an attempt to
adapt to their environment. They still found their tails useful

Lamarckism in Evolution Theory Today

• Behaviour can be different: Some behaviour patterns are innate and will also evolve in by
natural selection learned behaviour patterns can be changed within a generation
• Members of a social group who have acquired the behaviour in their lifetimes will pass these
learned skills onto others including their children
• This pattern of evolution resembles the Lamarckian pattern
• The evolution of learnt behaviour is much faster than genetic evolution and it plays an
important role in human cultural evolution