Why Two Unrelated Species Can Look Identical
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Evolution is a long and complex process. Evolution explained in 1 minute is a difficult task, but this was my attempt. Divergent Evolution can make two species from the same common ancestor evolve dissimilar characteristics over time. Convergent evolution happens when two lineages from different ancestors evolve similar characteristics. Together, these to forces have lead to some strange evolutionary relationships. We understand these relationships through the study of phylogeny, usually represented as a phylogenetic tree. Phylogeny studies the historical evolutionary relationships between species. These relationships are based on when the species branched off from its common ancestor. Two species are more closely related than to a third species if they share a more recent common ancestor. The sugar glider, while similar in appearance to the flying squirrel, is actually more related to the kangaroo because they both share a more recent common ancestor. These surprising evolutionary relationships show us that a hyena is closer to a cat than to a dog, a hippopotamus is closer to a dolphin than to a buffalo, a mushroom is closer to a human than to a plant, a crocodile is more related to a bird than to a lizard, and a potato is more related to a tomato than to a sweet potato.
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