Why might similar structures, such as wins, evolve in unrelated organisms?

Question

Caan someone help me and explain their answer too please?
Thank you!

Answer 1

Two animals that adapt to similar niches or environments can often develop similar structures, even though they did not inherit them from their last common ancestor (this is known as convergent evolution). The similar structures are called analogous traits (as opposed to homologous traits, which are a result of the last common ancestor also having this trait). Some good examples of this include: wings on birds, insects, and bats; fins on sharks and whales.

Another example in which a trait in two populations of one species separately evolves (due to two different mutations) is blondism in Europeans and in Australian Aborigines. Both populations have developed a trait for blond hair, but the mutations are on different places on the genome. This type of change is not due to similar ecological niches or environments (although it is still called convergent evolution).

I hope this helps!

Answer 2

These are called analogous structures. Different species evolved the same solutions to the same problems. They lived in places with the same environmental pressures. In the case of wings, the individuals with wings were able to survive better than individuals without. It was a solution that worked. So insects developed wings, birds evolved wings, and even maple trees evolved wings for their seeds. When it works, it works!

It's kind of like when two people come up with the same way to handle a problem even though they didn't talk it over.