What is Convergent Evolution?
Convergent evolution is a common theme in the evolution of animals. It occurs when two unrelated species independently evolve similar traits to cope with specific evolutionary challenges, like living in ice-cold water or eating ants. Sometimes convergent evolution is so powerful that creatures that began as entirely different animals start to look almost the same, as is the case with the skulls of the extinct marsupial Thylacine and the living Grey Wolf. There are hundreds or even thousands of examples of convergent evolution in nature. The wings of pterosaurs, bats, and birds have many similarities in structure, even though they are only very distantly related. Convergent evolution has occurred among the Giant Armadillo of North America, the Giant Anteater of South America, the Giant Pangolin of Africa, and the Spiny Anteater (echidna) of Oceania. These animals all have a similar body shape, including a long proboscis, because of their adaptations to consuming ants, even though their
It is the appearance of apparently similar structures in organisms of different lines of descent. It arises when natural selection favors similar shapes in different organisms that have similar lifestyles but are on different lines of descent. The end result is that each ends up looking very similar to the other even though they are only distantly related. An excellent example is the leatherback sea turtle, by far the biggest of the sea turtles. With the exception of the leatherback turtle, the green turtle we have discussed today is the largest marine turtle. The leatherback is not just bigger than a green turtle, it is the largest of all living reptiles (more massive even than the largest salt water crocodile). However, because they all these “turtles” look so similar they have been called sea turtles since time immemorial. But they are very distantly unrelated. Yes, both are reptiles, but that’s where it ends. The Leatherback turtle evolved to have long flippers and a protective “Sh
The rare Tasmanian Beech tree is the only true deciduous tree in Australia, and was long thought to be a relative of the northern hemisphere species, but study of its DNA shows that its origions date back to the Gondwana-southern supercontinent. So, the leaf shedding strategy evolved seperately in both hemispheres, another example of convergent evolution.
