What is an example of convergent evolution?
Swimming shape: Sharks, dolphins and ichthyosaurs. Fishes, such as sharks, cetaceans, including dolphins, and ichthyosaurs all converged on the same streamlined shape to help them thrive in the marine environment. We know that dolphins and sharks are not closely related, and they didn’t inherit their similar body shapes from a common ancestor. Their streamlined bodies, dorsal fins and flippers are the result of convergent evolution.Examples. Parallel Evolution: The evolution of old world monkeys and new world monkeys is an example of parallel evolution. Convergent Evolution: The development of the eye of vertebrates, cephalopods, and cnidarian is an example of convergent evolution.Convergent evolution is when two different species with different ancestors tend to develop similar traits during the course of evolution. It is due to a similar environment and natural selection. Eg. It is seen in sharks and dolphins. Sharks are streamlined bullet types.Examples of convergent evolution include the relationship between bat and insect wings, shark and dolphin bodies, and vertebrate and cephalopod eyes. Analogous structures arise from convergent evolution, but homologous structures do not.
How can convergent evolution be misleading?
Convergent Evolution: A Repeating Pattern The study confirms that nature frequently reinvents similar biological features in unrelated species, misleading scientists who rely on physical traits alone. Even though evolution is taking place all around us, for many species the process operates so slowly that it is not observable except over thousands or hundreds of thousands of years — much too long to witness in a human lifetime.Evolution could be falsified by many conceivable lines of evidence, such as: the fossil record showing no change over time, confirmation that mutations are prevented from accumulating in a population, or.Miller writes, evolution is as much a fact as anything we know in science. Ernst Mayr observed, The basic theory of evolution has been confirmed so completely that most modern biologists consider evolution simply a fact.
What is the most interesting convergent evolution?
Perhaps the most famous example of convergent evolution is that of the Wolf and the now extinct Thylacine, a marsupial which once lived across Australia. Both are pursuit predators, hunting in patchwork forest environments. Divergent evolution is similar to parallel evolution. For example, two groups of “flying frogs” have evolved from a common ancestor but were separated across the ocean. In their separate natural habitats, both groups evolved enlarged feet, significant webbing, and skin flaps that allow them to glide from tree to tree.The opposite of convergent evolution is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different traits.