convergent evolution
Sat Nov 13 1999 at 14:30:10
This is what happens when two species, or two body parts in different species, evolve to look similar.
Examples:
many of the Australian mammals look like counterparts in other parts of the world, even though, unlike these, they are all marsupials; before the mammals existed, giant birds took the top of the food chain in some places before mammals and birds outcompeted them (a process that is still continuing), many types of reptiles existed that look much like certain modern birds or mammals
eyes with very similar designs have provably developed independently in very different types of animals, but the set of designs in actual use is limited