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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 ...
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.
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 ...
Sequences are either homologous or not. [3] This involves that the term "percent homology" is a misnomer. [4] As with morphological and anatomical structures, sequence similarity might occur because of convergent evolution, or, as with shorter sequences, by chance, meaning
Convergent evolution is the development of analogous structures that occurs in different species as a result of those two species facing similar environmental pressures and adapting in similar ways. It differs from divergent evolution as the species involved do not descend from a closely related common ancestor and the traits accumulated are ...
Hummingbirds and sunbirds, two nectarivorous bird lineages in the New and Old Worlds have parallelly evolved a suite of specialized behavioral and anatomical traits. These traits (bill shape, digestive enzymes, and flight) allow the birds to optimally fit the flower-feeding-and-pollination ecological niche they occupy, which is shaped by the birds' suites of parallel traits.
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 ...
For example, the possession of digits that are homologous with those of Homo sapiens is a synapomorphy within the vertebrates. The tetrapods can be singled out as consisting of the first vertebrate with such digits homologous to those of Homo sapiens together with all descendants of this vertebrate (an apomorphy-based phylogenetic definition). [26]