Week 14


 

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Convergence, Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest

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So wait, Pocupines are not related to Hedgehogs and they both aren't related to Echidnas? But how?...they have the same 'hair'..  This is one of my favorite examples of Convergent Evolution. If one were to place these organisms next to each other, of course at first sight we would believe them to be closely related, if not at least distant cousins according to their phenotype. However, despite their shared trait of quills, these mammals are different from one another and evolved via different lineages. In fact, Enchidnas are more closely related to Platypuses and Kangaroos than they are Hedgehogs or Pocupines.  In the case of these cute pokey creatures, it was enviromental pressures that encouraged the formation of quills, as this became their most effective form of defense. Providing evolutionary biologists with a beautiful example of Convergent Evolution; a shared evolutionary trait among individuals that evolved from different lineages. 
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