Dr. digger, a paleontologist, finds a fossil that he describes in his journal. the creature was approximately 1 meter long, with its backbone fused into a large shell covering the body cavity. it had a beaklike mouth, without teeth, and all four limbs were in the form of flippers. based on anatomical similarities, to which modern animal is dr. digger’s creature most closely related?
a. zebra
b. bony fish
c. sea turtle
d. snake

Ans.

The fossil found by Dr. Digger was about 1 meter long, with backbone, body cavity covered by shell, beaklike mouth with no teeth. Along with these characters, it also had four limbs that were present in the form of flippers. All these features are present in a sea turtle as sea turtle is a tetrapod, its body cavity is protected by a hard shell made up of many bones, and it has flippers that help in swimming.  

Hence, the correct answer is option 'c). sea turtle.'