convergent evolution

American  

noun

1. the appearance of apparently similar structures in organisms of different lines of descent.

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convergent evolution Cultural  

1. The development through evolution of similar features by organisms with distinctly different ancestors. A common example of this is the evolution of wings in insects and birds.

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Etymology

Origin of convergent evolution

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

The authors found that early squamate evolution involved a great deal of anatomical experimentation and convergent evolution, which helps explain why the earliest snake story has been so difficult to untangle from fossils alone.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2026

It’s an example of convergent evolution, when completely unrelated species independently evolve comparable traits in response to similar environmental pressures.

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2026

This process of carcinisation is a form of convergent evolution.

From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025

There’s still so much to figure out about how convergent evolution works, not just in crabs but in all organisms.

From Salon • Oct. 14, 2024

There may be some convergent evolution because there may be only one best solution to a certain environmental problem— something like two eyes, for example, for binocular vision at optical frequencies.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan