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Homologous and Analogous Structures in Biology
Homologous structures are found in organisms with a shared origin, while analogous structures have the same function but in organisms that do not share a common ancestor. Homologous structures refer to the morphological traits found in living things that existed from a similar ancestor. Closely associated organisms normally share homologous characteristics that are similar structures with similar or different functions (Bergeron, 2021). Analogous structures came into existence independently but operate for the same function. Hence, they tend to be having a similar structure despite being very different from species to species.
Homologous organisms have the same ancestry, thus forming a monophyletic group in accordance with phylogenetic relationships. For organisms in this category, the development patterns are very common among this species having homologous structures in the embryology. Species with analogous structures do not have any close associations. Thus, organisms belonging to these groups do not share a comparable ancestor. Therefore, a phylogenetic tree cannot be considered to be monophyletic. However, these structures developed differently in every organism in order to serve equal functions. Even though analogous structures are not homologous, they usually adapt organisms for a common function, for instance, flight (Neander, 2017). These structures may be formed from convergent evolution, such as the aerodynamics body shape of fish make it easy for swimming.
There are numerous examples of organisms that have homologous structures. For example, human beings, bats and birds, have the humerus, radius, and ulna bones flight, walking, and running. The leaves of some of the plants originated from a similar basic pattern and ancestry; however, they get modified into different characters. For instance, cactus leaves are modified to store water, while Venus flytraps are modified to capture insects. An example of analogous structures in animals includes wings found in insects and. In plants, African euphorbias and cactus have succulent leaves to store water.
References
Bergeron, V. (2021). Carving the mind at it is homologous joints. Biology & Philosophy, 36(4), 1-16.
Neander, K. (2017). Does biology need teleology?. In The Routledge handbook of evolution and philosophy (pp. 64-76). Routledge.
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