Refer to the figure showing the wing and support structures (bones) of bat and bird wings. The similarities in the wings of bats and birds as adaptations for powered flight evolved through _______, which is a _______.
A) convergent evolution; homoplasy
B) convergent evolution; synapomorphy
C) evolutionary reversal; homoplasy
D) evolutionary reversal; synapomorphy
E) ancestral inheritance; synapomorphy

Question

Refer to the figure showing the wing and support structures (bones) of bat and bird wings.  The similarities in the wings of bats and birds as adaptations for powered flight evolved through _______, which is a _______.
A) convergent evolution; homoplasy 
B) convergent evolution; synapomorphy 
C) evolutionary reversal; homoplasy 
D) evolutionary reversal; synapomorphy 
E) ancestral inheritance; synapomorphy

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The similarities in the wings of bats and birds as adaptations for powered flight evolved through convergent evolution, which is a homoplasy. Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages, while homoplasy refers to similarities that are not due to common ancestry. Therefore, the best choice is A.

Refer to the Figure Showing the Wing and Support Structures