Change in a species' territory can bring on rapid morphological, or structural, evolutionary changes. This has been revealed by a study of genetic data and fossil records of a common California snail, conducted by biologists from Louisiana State University and the University of California, San Diego, USA. By studying different populations of Acanthinucela spirata, a marine gastropod found throughout the rocky coastal regions of California, the researchers discovered that past climatic changes altered the range of the species, which in turn, caused the species' shell shape to evolve.
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