Which example best illustrates homoplasy?
A) shark fins and dog tails
B) whale fins and bat wings
C) bird wings and insect wings
D) cactus spine and pea tendril
E) elongated snout of aardvarks and pangolins

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Homoplasy refers to a trait shared by a set of species but not present in their common ancestor, often due to convergent evolution or parallel evolution. Bird wings and insect wings are an example of homoplasy because they serve similar functions (flight) but evolved independently in birds and insects, which do not share a recent common ancestor with wings.

Which Example Best Illustrates Homoplasy