The article explores the concept of evolutionary convergence, highlighting how vastly different species like butterflies, pigeons, and bats independently evolved wings for flight despite lacking a common winged ancestor. This phenomenon extends to the brains of various vertebrates, such as birds, reptiles, and mammals, which have developed complex grey matter and neural circuits to perform similar functions. Contrary to the anthropocentric view that mammals are the pinnacle of evolution, recent studies suggest that brain capabilities have reached similar advanced levels across different species, opening new understanding in vertebrate brain evolution.
Mammals have an enlarged pallium and a gigantic cortex, but research shows that complex brain functions also evolved in birds, reptiles, and other vertebrates.
This evolutionary convergence illustrates that vastly different species can independently develop similar adaptations, such as wings for flight or complex brain functions.
Collection
[
|
...
]