Adaptation: Fossorial Locomotion

Adaptation is a process of nature in which an animal becomes better suited to its habitat and can be found throughout nature. In vertebrate species, these adaptations often affect the skeletal system. One example of skeletal adaptation can be found in locomotion.
There is a skeletal adaption called fossorial locomotion which means that animals overtime has modified to allow movement, to dig and live underground. These species often have modified limbs to aid in digging, as well as, compact bodies and rudimentary eyes. Common fossorial species include gophers, moles, and mole rats. Gophers are rodents that burrow which also have adaptions such as small ears and eyes to travel quickly underground, they have sensitive whiskers to move around in the dark and large clawed front paws, their nails are long in order to travel through the soil. Their large front teeth are used to loosen soil and rocks while digging, as well as to cut and eat roots and their fur and sparsely haired tails help
Although there are differences such as the fingers are elongated and may have additional bones and the joint between upper arm and forearm is immobile, creating an effective paddle. Also it is said that whales have evolved from four legged, hairy land mammals approximately 50 million years ago. They began their transition back into the oceans by feeding on the food present in the shallows around the edge of waters. Gradually whales adapted to their marine environment as their tail became adapted for vertical beating and their hair was mostly lost. Their eyes and kidneys adapted to the different salt balance, and the ears became sealed over and developed to function under water. Although whales still had to breathe air by doing so they developed nasal plugs to close the nostrils when