Why do some organisms appear to look like other organisms?

Camouflage, also called cryptic coloration, is a defense or tactic that organisms use to disguise their appearance, usually to blend in with their surroundings. Organisms use camouflage to mask their location, identity, and movement. This allows prey to avoid predators, and for predators to sneak up on prey.

What is it called when two unrelated species look alike?

Image credit: Shutterstock) Convergent evolution is when different organisms independently evolve similar traits. For example, sharks and dolphins look relatively similar despite being entirely unrelated.

Why do some animals have skin which matches with the surroundings?

Answer: The color of some animals is similar to the surrounding in which they live so that it is easy for them to hide from the predators and protect their lives. This property is called camouflage. It is widely observed in lizards, grasshoppers, birds, etc.

What causes mimicry?

Introduction. Batesian mimicry evolves when individuals of a palatable species gain the selective advantage of reduced predation because they resemble a toxic species that predators avoid (Ruxton et al.

What animals look alike but are not related?

Lizards and salamanders look a lot alike. They have long bodies and tails, and they generally crawl around on four legs. But looks can be deceiving. Lizards and salamanders are only distantly related; in fact, lizards are closer cousins to humans than they are to salamanders.

Why do sharks and dolphins look alike?

Gradually sharks, ichthyosaurs, and dolphins came to look alike because natural selection favored one particular shape over all others for rapid movement through the seas. Figure legend: Both have evolved a shape that moves through water with minimum of resistance, hence their superficial similarity.

What is operating when unrelated species living in different parts of the world but with similar niches evolve similar traits?

In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related (not monophyletic), independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches.

What are some reasons that similar traits might arise independently in species that are only distantly related?

What are some reasons that similar traits might arise independently in species that are only distantly related? Can you think of examples among familiar organisms? A reason that they might arise independently is because of convergent evolution.

Which of these animals can blend with its surroundings and confuse its enemies?

Answer: 1. Lion can blend with its surroundings and confuse its enemies.

Why do some organisms look alike but not others?

Usually when you have unrelated organisms that ‘look alike’ it is because they occupy similar ecological niches and therefore need some of the same features in order to ‘fit’.

Why do animals have the same traits for different environments?

They develop these characteristics because they live in similar environments or ecological niches. Similar environments impose similar challenges, and traits improving survival are favoured. This suggests that there are “ideal” traits for different environments.

Does natural selection always result in evolutionary convergence?

Natural selection can result in evolutionary convergence under several different circumstances. Species can converge in sympatry, as in mimicry complexes among insects, especially butterflies (coral snakes and their mimics constitute another well-known example).

What happens when mimics become more abundant than models?

The greater the proportion of mimics to models, the longer is the time required for predator learning and the greater the number of model casualties. In fact, if mimics became more abundant than models, predators might not learn to avoid the prey item at all but might actively search out model and mimic alike.