"The Earth is like a stage play, where the roles stay the same but the actors change." absolutely brilliant.

"can i copy your homework?" "yes but change it up a bit"

My favorite instance of convergent evolution: Vultures. New world and old world vultures are virtually indistinguishable but have no similar ancestors. The only reason we found out that they were descended from different lineages was the fact that new world vultures peed on their own legs to keep cool like a handful of other new world birds while old world vultures did not.

Convergent evolution is a big meme in its self: It's basically the *"We have **_______** at home"* meme but It's mother nature who says it.

So, one question remains... Did basking sharks and barn owls convergently evolve to fill a human-misleading niche?

Convergent evolution, and honestly evolution in general, is the same as PvP game metas: people will naturally stray towards the most effective strategies, while inefficient or weak strategies will die out

This makes me wonder how similar alien life on a similar planet might be to earth life.

I think my favorite example of this is Carcinisation. Which in layman's terms basically means "crustaceans keeps evolving into crabs".

Hello! Sorry for this super late video I've been really super stressed lately so it took a while. Tell me what you thought! It's weird that this video isn't getting as much views as I typically get... maybe its some new KZfaq Algorithm thing Sorry for the audio glitch at 5:44, I didn't notice it while editing. I'm supposed to say "Sometimes..." don't worry you didn't miss much. I was going to re-upload but I think its pretty minor

Sea Slug: Hey, can I copy your homework? Fish: Sure.

Ugh not hearing someone pronounce niche as “nitch” really soothes my soul

"Could we ourselves just be a niche that could be filled in? Could intelligent creatures building tools, just like saber teeth and shark-like body plans, just be filled by different characters throughout time? It's kind of reassuring when you think about it. If we all died in a mass extinction, and almost everything was wiped out, there'd still be hope for the future in that we'd all be replaced eventually by bizarro versions of ourselves. Life can hit the reset button and start all over again. And it's been doing this time and time again. Extinction is sometimes just the beginning of a new chapter of the same story with similar roles, only with different actors. Who knows what the future or the past has in store. All I know is a safe bet that the animals of tomorrow or yesterday might resemble those of today, only if you squint real hard." -Trey the Explainer Absolutely beautiful.

>Suminia evolving into apelike organisms >Permian mass extinction occurs *HHMMMMM.......*

Convergent evolution is one of the most fascinating things for me in the natural world! It’s so weird when things that share so much in common aren’t closely related at all.

Evolution isn't about the "best possible" it is more of a "minimum necessary" approach.

I kept waiting for the Triceratops - Rhinoceros comparison. I learned what convergent evolution was at age 6 or 7 or so at school, when they explained that Rhinos did not evolve from Triceratops, which was what a lot of kids assumed.

I prefer this over the Megalania video, to be honest. Convergent evolution is one of the most interesting things about evolution, in my opinion.

*Convergent Evolution in a Nutshell* Creatures evolve a similar body plan even if they aren't related because it just works.

My favorite analogy to convergent evolution is the fact that 'punk rock' was invented independently on at least 3 continents within the same year.

“There’s never enough food, or water, or energy to go around.” Untill some monkeys decided to plant some fancy grass

It just works

Kind of reminds me of The Future is Wild and how scientists create speculative creatures filling the same roles as modern ones and convergent evolution going on and on forever.

"There's already a George filling the George niche".

Ever since your very first video I've watched you get more and more adept at organising, writing and narrating these videos. Thank you, I love your work.

Convergent evolution is pretty much nature's version of "Hmm that's a nice worksheet you got there,it'd be a shame if I copied it in every way shape and form and handed it in as my own"

I get so ridiculously excited when YT notifies me that you've uploaded a new video! Fascinating stuff, as always!

whats with the audio cutting out at 5:42 and coming back in the middle of a sentence 3 seconds later?

It would be weird to find a convergent evolved “human” lemur or something

It is worth noting that convergent evolution isn't so simple when widely different yet complex organisms evolve for similar niches depending on what traits they originally possessed. This class of convergent evolution is probably best described by the Aye Aye and Woodpeckers which have adapted a finger and a beak respectively for the same role. Most of the listed examples with exception of the snail and fish one are from animals that started from relatively similar body plans that are much more likely to evolve towards similarity, in short direct convergent evolution is more likely the less complex the animals "starting" physiology. Which means humans are pretty unlikely to have a direct convergent twin unless they too were a primate as no other group of modern animals shares a similar body plan. Its not impossible just not all that likely.

You mentioned the bad "design" of the vertebrate eye vs. the cephalopod eye. I think you need to do an entire video devoted to bad design in nature. By bad design I mean a structure, system, or organ with an obvious flaw that could have easily been corrected if all life was created independently from one another. Some good examples to talk about other than the vertebrate eye would be the left recurrent laryngeal nerve, wisdom teeth, and the appendix. I don't know what kind of designer would create life with these flaws, but it is certainly not an intelligent one.

i must say, i've been watching stuff on KZfaq since 2006. this video takes the award for the single most interesting video I've seen in that time. I love when i stumble across something that perfectly explains a phenomenon that i have noticed on my own but was unable to completely grasp the whole picture.

My favorite example of convergent evolution is how crabs consist of like twelve different seperate lines of ancestry. It all returns to crab.

Nature is not lazy it's efficient. Great material and video as usual.

Your videos are so great! I always happy when they appear in my subscriptions!

I would actually love to see you do another video on this subject, but specifically on the convergent evolution of flight and how many times it's evolved independently.

"wed all be replaced" hope splatoon becomes a reality. would wanna be reincarnated as an octoling lol

Swifts and Swallows are very interesting convergents. Though not exactly identical, they share similar flight patterns and styles and feed on similar food sources and are basically the same size. In fact birds are very interesting to observe. And you're right that there are many specialized species...birds for example have a specialist for literally every level of the forest. From the ground, to kneed/hip level, to chest/eye level, to above eye level and all the way to the top of the trees. In fact you can pretty much already narrow down the list of potential species just by where you see the bird. As a birder, these are helpful techniques so you don't strain trying to get your bins on every individual. Vocalization as well as behaviour and shape help a lot too.

9:35 - Okay, time for some to write an alternate history where the Permian extinction didn't happen and they ended up convergently evolving with humans.

imagine a transparent human-like creature that's descended from these sea slugs after almost everything dies ina a mass-extinction

I learn more from you than I do from my actual teachers. Thank you and keep up what you are doing.

Would also have been interesting to have compared the European blonde hair mutation with the Melanesian one too, very radically different

Is it just me or is the audio is missing from 5:42 to 5:46

12:50 - AAAH! Ghost Leviathan! Great video. Perhaps the next set of Humans evolve from Cats and become Elves.

Evolution's just doing sequels now too.

If Suminia is the Permian equivalent to early primates....this could make excellent material for Fan-Fiction or a Sci-Fi Movie when someone competent gets this information. Imagine synapsid humanoids, having a civilization and such

The best example of inter phylum convergent evolution is the hummingbird and hummingbird hawk moth.

“It just works” -Todd Howard

Humans: *exist* Natural selection: *chuckles* "I'm in danger"

Trey don't be stressed out, we all love your videos and we know how hard you work on them, take as long as you need man

13:00 Imagine a time when there lived marsupial version of humans

Convergent evolution is also much more likely if the ancestors of things that now occupy the same niche had similar body plans. If you start out with two different four-limbed vertebrate clades that use claws and teeth, then results from those two clades occupying the same niche are much more likely to be similar than a fish and a squid occupying the same niche, for example. If things start out with the same basic toolbox, it's relatively likely those tools will be repurposed in similar ways leading to similar appearance/behavior, if they don't, then it's much less likely. (Though it is possible, like that one sea slug that's shaped like a fish)

One of my favorite memes: This niche empty, FEET

12:50 🅱️ *O N E L E S S F I S H*

Limited resources? I knew Trey was a loyal follower of Thanos.

holy shit. physics literally controls everything. it makes us conform to it even when we don't realize. mindblowing to be honest..

The "everything turns into crabs" meme would be perfect for this video lol

Convergent Evolution is a really cool phenomenon. It also is really encouraging for the prospects for finding intelligent life on other planets.

Goats are like mushrooms.

Wonderful video, very clearly explained. This should honestly be showed in schools the quote “The roles stay the same the actors just change” is the best way to explain convergent evolution I’ve ever heard. 👍

Great video. Thanks a lot. Another great example I always found to be Bee Flies and Hummingbirds. Both drinking nectar from flowers with a straw like nozzle in stationary flight and pretty similar in basic layout too. There have been times that they got me confused on which is which.

2:17 "Little one, it's a simple calculus. This universe is finite, its resources, finite...if life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correcting."

These videos always make me wish I could just time travel and explore past creatures along with future creatures

1:03 Thats fossil blew my mind.

From what I learned from an Evolutionary Development class whose main topic was vertebrates, the reason vertebrate eyes and cephalopod eyes (yes, I know cephalopods aren't vertebrates) are so similar actually comes from the similarities in the underlying genetic mechanisms of eye development, summed up as "deep homology." So it's more like: "Can I copy your homework?" "Sure, just make it different so the teacher won't notice." "Ok, I'll just- oh wait, I was gonna write these answers down anyways lol" "Oh nice haha"

you see? am a simple man i see a new video by trey i get happy!

that sea slug is pretty cool... Makes one wonder if they would take over if fish and other vertebrates got extinct. Could it even develop some equivalent if a spine? who knows...

It’s interesting to be a human because we lack that convergent counterpart, it makes me wonder if we’re a product of such a unique niche that a similar creature may never happen again. Either on another planet or our own in the future. Or maybe a world that has multiple consistent & separate niches, similar to the ones that caused us to Evolve that’s it’s just filled with different types of sophisticated intelligent life each spawning from a unique creature

I think the answer to ‘why?’ is simply ‘optimization’ things like specializations, natural selection and even the Golden Ratio are all examples of this in nature

Excellent video, especially noting (as with those thylacines) that the convergence doesn't extend down to the detailed anatomy (it may be noted the placental and marsupial versions differ by their tooth layouts too). Creationists (Intelligent Design or YECers both) occasionally fume over this convergence issue as a way to supposedly "refute" evolution, when such examples actually affirm its principles oh so well.

Cephalopods... Convergent evolution... Human extinction You should be able to connect the strings to this cryptic message now.

Great video on a fascinating topic. Convergent evolution has fascinated me for years. It occurs to me that perhaps not only individual species but ecosystems as well are driven to resemble each other.

“Hey, can I copy your homework?” “Sure, but don’t make it obvious.” *creates crab*

TREY: Foxes are less related to thylacenes than we are to dolphins ME: 😱😱😱😱

doesn't matter what the puddles made of, it fits the hole available...

Unless something really messes up earth Modern Technology “Allow us to introduce ourselves.”

Another good example of convergent evolution is between the megalodon and the great white. While they are massively similar, save the obvious size difference, they are very, very distantly related on the shark family tree.

Evolution : *CTRL-C CTRL-V*

“May I please copy your homework” “Yes, however, add proper grammar”

This video was very helpful for my biology essay. Had a 1 hour lecture on convergent evolution that wasn't as insightful as this. Will make sure I include this in my bibliography

Lovely video as always. Would you consider doing a video about the Cambrian explosion and theories surrounding it?

>Trey upload *Awaken, my masters*

Brilliant video, you explained such a complex concept in such an entertaining and easy to understand way!

A cool example of convergent evolution is Pac-Man Frogs and Devil Frogs (the largest frog to have existed). They look nearly identical despite being from completely different continents!

Lol, good thing is we know the Megalainia paleo profile is almost ready.

If life truly was created by intelligent design instead of evolved That intelligence is either lazy or a plagiarist

The thumbnail gave me Subnautica PTSD

such a great informative video! Enjoyed every second of it and I am thankful for the work that you put in to making these amazing videos!

Another quite baffling example of this phenomenon is the saw of the sawfish and the sawshark. These creatures are so bizarre, yet so similar but evolved their defining feature independently.

5:41 i think there's an audio error. Great video tho. Really interesting info i never really thought of.

I had no idea about this concept. You blew my mind at least 5 times during this video! Thank you so much for this!!!

Your vídeos are just incredible! You make complex themes understandable to us humans who don't specialize in the matter. Please keep up the good work!!

I know I haven't commented under you videos before, but I'm always so happy to see your videos. Very educative, with lots of great information most likely researched carefully and with deep thought, not to mention some great thoughts or puns aside. I'm glad even if you cannto make your planned videos as soon as you wish, you always can share something as wodnerful as this. Thank you very much :)

14+ minute nutshells are my jam

“Elaine! Wait! Can I come with you?” “Sorry, we already have a George.” *cue bass riff*

Despite its faults, the live action Green Lantern movie references the fact that a bunch of the sentient aliens have body plans similar to ours due to convergent evolution.

I love the use of Bowie as example of Europeans

Antarctica was most likely a hotspot for marsupial diversity before it froze over.

Great video! It was as fascinating as informative.

great video! I just have one problem with one thing you showed: tapirs and pigs are not comparable, aspecially not in lifestyle. tapirs dont dig for roots and look under dry leaves like pigs do, tapirs are browsers who eat from low bushes. thats why their neck is much more flexible, allowing them to look up. their nose is not stiff like a pig's, it's actually very trunk-like, and they use it to grab brances when they eat, or as a snorkle when they swim. a better example for convergent evolution would be pigs and pecaris.