Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy.
Carcinisation (American English: carcinization) is a form of convergent evolution in which non-crab crustaceans evolve a crab-like body plan. The term was introduced into evolutionary biology by Lancelot Alexander Borradaile, who described it as "the many attempts of Nature to evolve a crab". [2]
Convergent evolution – Independent evolution of similar features List of examples of convergent evolution – Examples of separate lineages of organisms developing similar characteristics Divergent evolution – Accumulation of differences between closely related species populations, leading to speciation
Also called functionalism. The Darwinian view that many or most physiological and behavioral traits of organisms are adaptations that have evolved for specific functions or for specific reasons (as opposed to being byproducts of the evolution of other traits, consequences of biological constraints, or the result of random variation). adaptive radiation The simultaneous or near-simultaneous ...
However, the criteria for defining convergent as opposed to parallel evolution are unclear in practice, so that arbitrary diagnosis is common. When two species share a trait, evolution is defined as parallel if the ancestors are known to have shared that similarity; if not, it is defined as convergent.
Additionally, a trait may be convergent at a broader level of description while being divergent at a more detailed level, with an example being the differently structured wings of insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats. Knowing how common convergence is also requires more research into how often a trait failed to evolve under the same selective ...
Download as PDF; Printable version; ... Pages in category "Convergent evolution" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. ... List of examples of ...