Parallel Evolution

So what is parallel evolution? What are some good examples? Well, parallel evolution is when different species are alike in either physical features or natural habits. Modern examples of parallel evolution are how tree shrews are like a lot of modern lower primates. Both families live in trees, have opposable fingers and toes, and tree shrews even closely resemble the earliest primate families. However, they are not really related. Though that is still a subject of some debate. Or like the similarities between beavers and otters. Both are adapted for an almost fully aquatic lifestyle. But they are in no way related. The list of parallel evolution just goes on and on.

I was looking at some of my own animals of the future and noticed I took advantage of this theory quite a bit! For example, the similarities between the family Promonsamiidae and the species Oreolemur. Both are pentadactyls of the Metazoic that take to the water, instead of the trees. They resemble each other in a lot of ways. They are all otter-like lemurs and have flat tails and webbed feet. Though their timelines don't collide, so they don't compete with each other. Though they are both lemurs with many similarities, they are in no ways related. They are separated by about 30 million years of evolution. By the time Oreolemur comes around (about 70-100 million years AM), the Promonsamiidae have already become the family Delphinadapidae. Oreolemur is in a family of lemurs that are all primarily tree-dwellers, like Leptonosoma and Mesocheirus, and actually evolved from a small, cat-like, river-dwelling lemur called Potamailuria. This lemur is a weaker swimmer than Oreolemur, but powerful enough to battle tough currents, crawling along the river floor in search of fish and mollusks.

Then there is the Delphinadapids. They come along during a time when a larger, more well-established predator rules the oceans. This predator is Thalassogenetta. It is the largest of all Viverrids, but they resemble the Delphinadapids in many ways. The tail is made to move in a very eel-like fashion. The main difference is Thalassogenetta has the cat-like retractable claws, and they use them to grasp their prey, even in the ocean. The tail is used to propel them, and the foreflippers are used for steering. Thalassogenetta feeds on anything. Their primary prey is the giant sea turtles in their range. But they do not stop there. They also feed on fish, giant squid, and sea mammals, including the Delphinadapids and Oreolemur. Though Thalassogenetta taking Oreolemur is somewhat rare, as they prefer to prey on larger animals. But this is a great example on how I capitalized on parallel evolution in my animals of the future. And this isn't all, there are several examples of this phenomenon throughout my site.

Many of the animals on my site would even be considered to have evolved parallel to modern animals. Such as the similarity between lemurs like Leptonosoma and the modern sifakas. Both have disproportionately long legs for easily moving through the trees, long tails, and short forearms. But there are some differences as well. Leptonosoma is more slenderly built than the sifakas. This and several other adaptations to their skeletal structure make them much more phenominal leapers than sifakas. They also have larger ears that they can move independently, and they have a more mixed diet. Also, I have the Metazoic versions of camels, apes and hyenas. None are related to the families we have today, but they evolved parallel to the lifestyle of these animals, and when you look at them and their lifestyles in the Metazoic, it's hard to tell the difference between them and their modern counterparts.