Vestigial Structures

     This is a picture of a glorious male emu. An emu is an example of an animal that contains vestigial structures. A vestigial structure is a structure found in an organism that has lost most or all of its function over hundreds of years of evolution. In this case, the emu's vestigial structures are its little tiny wings.  The wings on this emu had the primary function of flight a long time ago when its ancestors existed. Over time, the second- largest bird evolved and spend its time on land, thus, having no reason for flight; it is why the wings can no longer sustain flight.