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Practice problem

Isolating Mechanisms — Definition & Examples

By Sarah Morgan
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The picture shows two groups of snakes separated by a canyon. The snakes on the left have blue spots, while the ones on the right have purple spots.

You are studying two populations of snakes that live on opposite sides of a canyon. The left population of snakes is orange with blue spots. The right population is orange with purple spots. You know that many thousands of years ago, the canyon did not exist. You have reason to believe that the two species of snakes have a common ancestor that lived in the area before the canyon formed. What is the most likely explanation for the speciation of the two types of snakes?

Choose one answer

Type a concept, like “slope” or “photosynthesis”.

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