Question

What does the presence of homologous structures in different organisms suggest?

Answer 1

The presence of a homologous structure suggests common ancestry, and further suggests that the nearest common ancestor of two organisms had the trait which is homologous. Comparison of several modern organisms with different variations of the same homologous structure can suggest what the original ancestor's actual characteristics were, and comparison of the structure in different organisms can also suggest which organisms are more or less closely related

Answer 2

Homologous structure are similarities in bone structure between different species that might have different functions. An example is the human hand and a bat wing. Homologous structure can be opposed to analogous structure that are found body structures, in different species, that have the same function but different bone structure, an example are dolphins and sharks fins. If homologous structures are present in different species we can imagine that they come from a common ancestor