Question

Comment on the similarity between the wing of a cockroach and the wing of a bird. What do you infer from the above, with reference to evolution?

Answer 1

Evolution is the changes that an organism adapted due to environmental condition, natural selection, and other factors. The organism undergoes many physiological changes and to determine the relation between them many parameters were set.

Complete answer:
To answer this question, we have to know about the homology and analogy. Homologous is the structural study that has similar embryonic origin and analogous is the study of organs that have similar function. Both the terms are used to determine the organisms that are closely related to each other but due to evolution they have adapted some of the minor genetic changes that make morphological differences between them some of the organisms that are not related to one another are distantly related due to environmental conditions.

Now, the analogous structures are structures that independently evolved in different organisms that persist similar functions. We have observed that cockroaches have wings like birds and bats, they all use wings to fly but the shape and structure of the wings are not similar, this is an example of analogous organs; the function of the body part is the same but the structure is different.

Human forelimbs provide support for running, walking, and jumping. While the frogs’ hindlimbs are muscular that allows them to jump and swim. Therefore, structures that are similar in structure of two organisms but have different functions, this is not an analogous structure.

Note: The frog and humans forelimbs and hindlimbs have identical anatomical structures but perform the different functions human forelimb get evolved and helps to perform different tasks while frog forelimbs help to move and sit, this is an example of homologous organs.