220 ■ CHAPTER 12 Mechanisms of Evolution
EVOLUTION
These three plants evolved from very distantly related
plants via natural selection to adapt to life in the desert.Natural selection has caused two distantly related
animals—sharks (a type of fish, left) and dolphins
(a type of mammal, right)—to look very similar.Figure 12.10
Natural selection can result in convergent evolution
Q1: How is convergent evolution different from evolution by common descent?Q2: What is the main difference between a homologous trait (see Figure 11.11) and an analogous trait?Q3: Why are convergent traits considered evidence for evolution (see Chapter 11)?Figure 12.11
Staphylococcus aureus (left) and Enterococcus (right)