Convergent Evolution

[hamo_05]

For some organisms who have characters that evolved from different ancestral but perform similar or same functions eg wings of bats, birds and insects, i just wondering how this homologica existance in the animal Kingdom would contribute to Darwins theory of evolution. Any thoughts would help. Thanks.
Afele.

[mmbell32]

Homologous traits are similar because they are derived from a common ancestor, while analogous traits are similar because natural selection (Darwin) has favored similar adaptations to similar environments.
In the example you gave, wings of bats and birds- also eyes in fish v/s say eyes in octopus or the eyes of crocodiles v/s hippos, the similarity in the traits is due to convergent evolution, not descent from a common ancestor.

Afele, does this make the muddy water clear?
Did it answer your question.
The above post is how i understand the stuff, i could be proven wrong.

MMBell

[James]

Yeh, just because 2 lawyers are both wearing suits, doesn't mean that that one could'nt have come from a farming family and the other didn't. Both species have found the same solution, which gives benefits, for a similar environment.

Another example: http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/~pine/converge-eg.html