Browse by Stream
QnA
Home
QnA
Go To Your Study Dashboard

Get Answers to all your Questions

header-bg qa
  • Home
  • School
  • (a) Differentiate between convergent and divergent evolution by taking one suitable example of each. (b) Explain adaptive radiation with the help of suitable examples.    

(a) Differentiate between convergent and divergent evolution by taking one suitable example of each.

(b) Explain adaptive radiation with the help of suitable examples.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Answers (1)

CONVERGENT EVOLUTION

DIVERGENT EVOLUTION

1.Convergent evolution is when structures differ anatomically and they develop to perform similar functions. Hence, analogous structures are a result of convergent evolution.

1.The same structure develops along different directions due to adaptations to different needs. This is divergent evolution and these structures are homologous. These homologous structures have similar anatomical structure and perform different functions

2. Examples- Eye of the octopus and of mammals or The flippers of penguins and dolphins.

2.Examples- whales, bats, cheetah and humans share similarities in the pattern of bones of forelimbs Thorn and tendrils of Bougainvillea and cucurbita

 

b) During his journey to the Galapagos Islands, Darwin observed an amazing diversity of creatures. Of particular interest, small black birds later called Darwin’s Finches amazed him. He realized that there were many varieties of finches in the same island. All the varieties, he conjectured, evolved on the island itself. From the original seed-eating features, many other forms with altered beaks arose, enabling them to become insectivorous and vegetarian finches. This process of evolution of different species in a given geographical area starting from a point and literally radiating to other areas of geography (habitats) is called adaptive radiation. Darwin’s finches represent one of the best examples of this phenomenon.

Another example is the Australian marsupials. A number of marsupials, each different from the other evolved from an ancestral stock, but all within the Australian island continent. When more than one adaptive radiation appeared to have occurred in an isolated geographical area (representing different habitats), one can call this convergent evolution.

Placental mammals in Australia also exhibit adaptive radiation in evolving into varieties of such placental mammals each of which appears to be ‘similar’ to a corresponding marsupial (e.g., Placental wolf and Tasmanian wolfmarsupial).

Posted by

Priyanka Kumari

View full answer

Crack CUET with india's "Best Teachers"

  • HD Video Lectures
  • Unlimited Mock Tests
  • Faculty Support
cuet_ads

Similar Questions

Trending Articles/News

anam-khan

CBSE Class 12 board exams 2025 to have 50% competency-based questions; no change in 10th
anam-khan

CBSE Class 12 board exams 2024 over; expected result date, trends of last 10 years
anam-khan

CBSE Class 12 accountancy board exam analysis 2024 out; paper rated easy, balanced

Latest Question