convergent evolution

Convergent evolution produced the superficially similar streamlined bodies of the dolphin and penguin. Despite their very different evolutionary paths - one as a mammal, the other as a bird - both have evolved and adapted to the aquatic environment they now inhabit.

In biology, the independent evolution of similar structures in species (or other taxonomic groups) that are not closely related, as a result of living in a similar way. Thus, birds and bees have wings, not because they are descended from a common winged ancestor, but because their respective ancestors independently evolved flight.

In such cases, the structures often differ in their anatomical origins and are only superficially similar. Such structures are said to be ‘analogous’, in contrast to the homologous organs of related groups.