Analogous Structures

Analogous structures are similar structures that evolved independently

in two living organisms to serve the main purpose.
The term “analogous structures” comes from the root word “analogy”,
which is a device in the English language where two different things on a basis
of their similarities.
Analogous structures are examples of convergent evolution, where two
organisms separately have to solve the evolutionary problem – such as staying
hidden, flying, swimming, or conserving water – in similar ways. The result is
similar body structures that developed independently.
In case of analogous structures, the structures are not the same, and
were not inherited from the same ancestor. But they look similar and served a
similar purpose.
For example, the wings of an insect, bird, and bat would be all analogous
structures: they all evolved to allow flight, but they did not evolve at the same
time, since insects, birds, and mammals all evolved the ability to fly at different
times.

Examples of Analogous Structures

Wings Through The Ages
As mentioned above, many creatures have independently developed
wings. All wings were evolved in order to solve the same problem: how to fly
through the air. But they have evolved on several different occasions
throughout history.
Insects were the first organisms to evolve structures which could push
air down in order to propel their bodies through the air. Insects probably
evolved flight by using parts of their protective exoskeletons to propel
themselves through the air.
Millions of years later, reptiles learned to do the same thing- pterosaurs
evolved a skin membrane, stretched between their finger and ankle bones,
which was capable of propelling them through the air.
Millions of years later still, dinosaurs separately evolved flight – using the
feathers they had developed to keep warm in order to push them into the sky.
In the process, these small, feathered dinosaurs evolved into birds.
 Mammals solved the problem of flight yet again about 100 million years
after birds first appeared, with bats using a similar solution to that of the
pterosaurs: skin membranes stretched between long finger bones.

Lasiurus blossevillii wing

In this way, we have at least four different types of wings in the fossil
record which are analogous: they serve the same purpose, but were not
inherited from the same ancestor.

The “Duck-Billed” Platypus

When the first specimen of a platypus was sent to a British museum by
an Australian explorer, they tried to pry it apart to prove it was a fake! British
scientists were sure that someone had simply stuck a duck’s bill onto the body
of a beaver-like animal.
However, the truth was much more interesting: platypi had evolved
almost exactly the same structure evolved by ducks to solve the problem of
gathering food such as fish and aquatic plants from water.
Ducks and platypi could not possibly be related – platypi are mammals,
and they evolved long after birds and mammals went their separate ways on
the evolutionary path. Yet both evolved very similar solutions when they moved
from land back into the water!

Cacti and Water Conservation

Some members of the plant genres Euphorbia and Astrophytum look
extremely similar.
Both have round, ball-shaped bodies divided into eight equal wedges;
both have hard, pointy thorns sticking out in a row along the middle of each
wedge, protecting them from animals who might try to eat them. To the
untrained eye, they may be mistaken for members of the same species.
This is particularly remarkable because these two genii are only distantly
related, and they live in two completely different parts of the world.
 Astrophytum evolved in North America, and all members of its genus are
cacti that live in the southwestern deserts.

Euphorbia, on the other hand, is a plant genus that includes poinsettias

– as well as certain cacti found in the deserts of Africa.

Both the African and North American cacti conserve water by minimizing
their surface area – resulting in a round, ball shape – developing a thick, waxy
skin, and placing prickly deterrents on its skin at its most vulnerable places to
discourage animals from trying to eat it for its moisture.

The result is two plants which look nearly identical – but which have very
different ancestry!

Difference Between Analogous and Homologous Structures

The difference between homologous and analogous structures can be thought
of in terms of ancestry and function:

• Analogous structures have different ancestry, but the same function.

These can be thought of in terms of the literary device of “analogy,” where two
different things are compared based on their similarities.

• Homologous structures have the same ancestry, but may no longer serve the
same function.

For example, the bones that make up human fingers were inherited from an
ancestor that’s shared by all mammals. Bats, dogs, and whales also have these
bones, but bats use them to spread their wings, dogs walk on them, and
whales do not use them for anything since they are encased inside their fins.
These structures are therefore homologous – there is a clear relationship and
similarities between them, even though they are not used for the same
purpose.

The existence of homologous structures is strong evidence for the theory of

evolution, since there is no reason why a whale should have the same bones in
its fin that a bat has in its wings, unless they both evolved from a common
ancestor.

These can be thought of in terms of the literary device of “homonyms,” where

two words sound the same, but have different meanings.

Identifying Analogous Structures

Scientists usually identify analogous structures by looking at the known
relatives of the two species being studied.

If a line of common inheritance can be found – such as humans and monkeys

both having fingers, when we have a fossil record showing that humans and
monkeys shared a common ancestor, who also had fingers – the structures are
not considered analogous.

But if no common ancestor which shares these features is found – such as in

the case of bats and insects, whose shared ancestor did not fly at all – the
structures would be considered analogous.