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

Different species sometimes arrive at the same biological solution on their own, a phenomenon known as parallel evolution.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

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

Extensive parallel evolution of neural organization in ctenophores is the most evident.

From Nature • May 20, 2014

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