The theory of the inheritance of acquired traits was formulated by the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. It signifies that the traits an organism acquires during its lifetime in correspondance to its environnement will be transmitted to their offspring. According to this theory giraffes have long necks because shorter giraffes spent their lives streching their necks to reach their food, folliage, and they passed on this trait to their young, creating over generations the modern giraffe. This theory, however, was never proven scientifically and was disproved by Darwin's theory of natural selection.
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