Official Answer Key & Detailed Solution
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Correct Answer: Option (A) — use and disuse of organs
Concept & Option Breakdown
Standard Reference VerifiedJean-Baptiste Lamarck's evolutionary hypothesis proposed the 'Theory of Use and Disuse', positing that continuous disuse of an anatomical structure leads to its gradual reduction and eventual disappearance over generations, with snake limblessness cited as a classic example resulting from adaptation to subterranean/crevice movement.
In classical evolutionary biology questions from early UPSC papers, the disappearance of snakes' limbs is specifically associated with Lamarck's principle of 'use and disuse'.
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