parallel evolution

American  

noun

1. the independent development of closely corresponding adaptive features in two or more groups of organisms that occupy different but equivalent habitats, as marsupial mammals in Australia and placental mammals on other continents.

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Etymology

Origin of parallel evolution

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Camera-type eyes in both vertebrates and invertebrates are classic examples of parallel evolution, arising independently as comparable solutions to similar biological needs.

From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2025

That parallel evolution creates the illusion that the two lineages are closely related.

From New York Times • May 17, 2023

The other scenario, Rutherford explained, is that omicron had a "parallel evolution track" — from infecting animals from a human and then back to humans — that could have caused all of its mutations.

From Salon • Jan. 20, 2022

“This whole case is probably just parallel evolution, like bats and birds,” writes Jim Roberts in his book, “How the Fender Bass Changed the World.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 6, 2018

If true, that finding would suggest parallel evolution and multiregional origins of modern humans, rather than origins in a single Garden of Eden.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond