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  2. Convergent evolution - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution

    Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are analogous, whereas homologous structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions.

  3. Glossary of genetics and evolutionary biology - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_genetics_and...

    The independent evolution of similar traits or adaptations in two or more different taxa from different periods or epochs in time, creating analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those taxa; e.g. structures enabling flight evolved independently in at least four distinct ...

  4. Apomorphy and synapomorphy - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apomorphy_and_synapomorphy

    In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have evolved in their most recent common ancestor .

  5. Plesiomorphy and symplesiomorphy - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesiomorphy_and_symplesio...

    In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades. Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, apomorphy, and synapomorphy, all mean a trait shared between species because they share an ancestral species. [a]

  6. List of examples of convergent evolution - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of...

    Convergent evolution—the repeated evolution of similar traits in multiple lineages which all ancestrally lack the trait—is rife in nature, as illustrated by the examples below. The ultimate cause of convergence is usually a similar evolutionary biome , as similar environments will select for similar traits in any species occupying the same ...

  7. Homology (biology) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homology_(biology)

    The opposite of homologous organs are analogous organs which do similar jobs in two taxa that were not present in their most recent common ancestor but rather evolved separately. For example, the wings of insects and birds evolved independently in widely separated groups , and converged functionally to support powered flight , so they are ...

  8. Homoplasy - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homoplasy

    Most often, homoplasy is viewed as a similarity in morphological characters. However, homoplasy may also appear in other character types, such as similarity in the genetic sequence, [4] [5] life cycle types [6] or even behavioral traits. [7] [5]

  9. Thesaurus - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesaurus

    A thesaurus (pl.: thesauri or thesauruses), sometimes called a synonym dictionary or dictionary of synonyms, is a reference work which arranges words by their meanings (or in simpler terms, a book where one can find different words with similar meanings to other words), [1] [2] sometimes as a hierarchy of broader and narrower terms, sometimes simply as lists of synonyms and antonyms.