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Understanding Evolution

Understanding Evolution

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Home → Homologies are not just anatomy

    Homologies are not just anatomy

    We tend to think of homologies in terms of anatomy: the tetrapod limb, insect wings, vertebrate eyes. However, anatomical homologies are just one of many sorts of homologies. Any heritable trait — anything that can be directly or indirectly encoded in DNA — can be a homology:

    • A simple trait
      Among milkweed species, having milky sap is a homology.
    • A complex structure
      The antennae of beetles and moths are homologous, for example.
    A beetle with long segmented antennae and a moth with feathery antennae.
    Beetle photo © 2003 Frank T. Hovore; Moth photo © 2005 Dr. Amadej Trnkoczy.
    • A gene sequence
      The gene that codes for the protein insulin is homologous in humans and cows; both sequences descended from the same ancestral gene sequence.
    • A behavior
      Birds and crocodiles both provide parental care to their offspring (as shown below); this behavior was inherited from a common ancestor and is homologous.
    A bird feeding its young and an adult crocodile with baby crocs on its snout.
    Robin photo provided by James C. Leupold and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Crocodile photo provided by Dr. Grahame Webb at Wildlife Management International.

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