Convergent Evolution, Divergent Evolution and Eevee (for dummies)

Woaaaaaah!!! It's being a pretty long time since I've tried to give some food for the brain, it feels like millions of years, as a long process of minuscule changes that lead to the adaptability of every species on this planet... OK, YOU GOT ME!!! Today we are talking about EVOLUTION _again... the wonderful process that leads all of us here! But most importantly why some species share some traits even when they are as related as good writing and the GOT Finale! LETS! DO! THIS! SHIT! _{Besides, we are going to get help from really cute critters in this one...}

Source: GIPHY

WHAT'S UP WITH THAT BODY PLAN?

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Like yeah man, why do some animals just resemble others? Isn't that weird? Just look at the Thylacine _{Or Tasmanian Wolf/Tiger call it what you want!}, that fucker is a marsupial, you know like a mammal but with a pouch to save their offspring from dangers and whatnot, the dream of all over helicopter parents, that guy is evolutionarily related to Kangaroos, but you know what? It looks exactly like a wolf or a dog for that matter, but they are not related in any way, the most recent common ancestor lived 160 million years ago! DINOSAURS WERE A THING! _{well... they still are because #BirdsAreDinosaurs but we already had that conversation!}, so why? Why resemble a dog? Why choose that body plan? _{I mean I would've chosen like IDK a dragon, those fly and breath fire, dogs are great and all but WE COULD'VE HAD DRAGON THYLACINE, YOU FUCKED UP!}

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The answer lies there in the fantastic way the evolution works i.e. Natural Selection and how it drives species to adapt to their environment, to do that you need a certain body plan _{and no a body plan is not something you do at the gym}, a body plan that is fit to the terrain you live in, the food you eat and even how you defend yourself, from that and the changes of the environment or the traits you have you evolve! But natural selection and evolution are not straight lines and present behaviors that can surprise anyone studying them, two of those behaviors that explain why some animals tend to look alike when they're not related and the other way around, related species that took completely different evolutionary paths are Convergent Evolution and Divergent Evolution.

Source: socratic.org

D.E. and C.E.

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Ok let's see put glasses on

Divergent evolution or divergent selection is the accumulation of differences between closely related populations within a species, leading to speciation. Divergent evolution is typically exhibited when two populations become separated by a geographic barrier (such as in allopatric or peripatric speciation) and experience different selective pressures that drive adaptations to their new environment. After many generations and continual evolution, the populations become unable to interbreed with one another.

Wikipedia

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Thank you Wikipedia that was extremely boring, what Mr. Know-it-all was trying to say is that you get divergent evolution when one species undergoes evolution to adapt to their environment and needs and with the passing of time becomes two or more different species, just like what happened to Darwin's Finches... you know the birds on the Galapagos Islands Charles Darwin studied for his The Origin of Species book... OK OK JUST LIKE EEVEE GUYS! _geez!

Remember Eevee could evolve in different Pokemon unlike all the other normies Pokemon that have just a straight line of evolution? Well, the same happens in nature, species evolve to adapt their environment, their food source, etc and different species come out of it, in this case, Eevee evolve differently to "adapt" to their "needs", it evolves into Flareon to get things pretty hot, into Vaporeon to swim and shit and into Jolteon to easily recharge the Pokedex's batteries... _{... what?... no... why?... OK I'LL DO THE REST OF THEM!} inhales Espeon to reach the remote control with its mind, Umbreon to be the edgiest of them all, Leafeon to "don't forget to write a weed joke here", Glaceon to know if Winter is finally gonna come and Sylveon to be able to enter the Japanese Idol scene... HAPPY!?!?

Source: Critical Hit Gaming

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Well, here we go again ahem

Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups.

Wikipedia

Source: GIPHY

Is that it? Ok, thanks, Wikipedia that was shorter and way less boring, way to go! But to put it simpler convergent evolution is when two or more totally different species developt similar characteristics, like flight, that evolve independently in birds, mammals, and insects, or legs, you know almost everybody has legs they are pretty cool and useful, _{sorry sneks} it even can happen with entire body plans like the Thylacine up there that looks just like a wolf... _{What's that?} Oh... you came here for the Pokemon... Ok, let them in...

Ok, now you guys think in a pair of Pokemon that share some similarities... c'mon guys is not that hard, the first generation has a couple... no? Nothing, really? Do your part guys, Dragonite and Charizard, it was right there. Ok, let's do the list, Dragonite, and Charizard both have two legs and stand upright? CHECK!! They both have arms and use them for punchy punchy stuff? CHECK!! Both of them have a pair of wings to soooooar the skies? CHECK!! They both breathe fire? DING DING DING I guess we stroke evolution bingo right here my dudes, but we are forgetting the most important part, they don't come from the same common ancestor, they are not related, Dragonite evolves from Dratini and Dragonair and is a Dragon-Type, meanwhile Charizard comes from Charmander and Chameleon and is a Fire/Flying-Type, _{it's ok to not be a Dragon-Type Charizard, no it doesn't make you a disappointment, my parents said that I was a disappointment too and I'm ok, you'll be ok too, it's alright} Guys can you leave Charizard and I alone for a bit? All this not a true dragon shit really gets to him, thanks.

Source: Conquer Club

So, what do you guys think? Did the Thylacine really fuck up trying to give us dragons or it really wanted to be a dog al this time? You evolution nerds, learned something about Pokemon? And what about you Pokemon fans? Aint this evolution thing neat AF? Let me know what do you think in the comments below! I'll be waiting for you!

Other Sources

THANKS FOR READING!

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_{This post is dedicated to the loving memory of @gabriellecd, she's not dead she just gave me the idea... like two years ago... love you <3}