In biology, an analogy is a trait or an organ that appears similar in two unrelated organisms. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy, from Greek for same form. Biological analogies are often the result of convergent evolution.
The classical example of an analogy is the ability to fly in birds and bats. Both groups can move by powered flight, but flight has evolved independently in the two groups. The ability to fly does not make...
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In biology, an analogy is a trait or an organ that appears similar in two unrelated organisms. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy, from Greek for same form. Biological analogies are often the result of convergent evolution.
The classical example of an analogy is the ability to fly in birds and bats. Both groups can move by powered flight, but flight has evolved independently in the two groups. The ability to fly does not make birds and bats close relatives. The opposite of analogy is homology, where the ability or organ in question has been inherited from a common ancestor. The British anatomist Richard Owen was the first scientist to recognise the fundamental difference between analogies and homologies, and named them.
Analogous traits will often arise due to convergence, where different species live in similar ways and/or similar environment, and thus face the same environmental factors. Both herrings and dolphins are streamlined. Both are active predators in a...
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