AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A great example of homologous structures are the wings of a bat and the arms of a human. Bats and humans are both mammals, so they share a common ancestry. Both a bat’s wing and a human’s arm share a similar internal bone structure, even though they look very different externally.

Detailed explanation-2: -Analogous structures have different morphology, which means they are different in structure but have similar function. Let’s take our bat wing again, and this time compare it to a butterfly wing and a bird wing. The bone structure of the bat wing is closer to the bone structure of a human arm than it is to a bird wing.

Detailed explanation-3: -Bird and bat wings are analogous-that is, they have separate evolutionary origins, but are superficially similar because they have both experienced natural selection that shaped them to play a key role in flight.

Detailed explanation-4: -When two or more organs or structures are basically similar to each other in construction but are modified to perform different functions, they are said to be serially homologous. An example of this is a bat’s wing and a whale’s flipper.

Detailed explanation-5: -Analogous organs are those organs that have some superficial resemblance, perform similar functions and yet, have different evolutionary origins and hence, different anatomical structures.