Animals that look related but aren't.

[FelipeDBKO]

The evolution is a box of surprises. Who imagine that a Tasmanian Devil is closer to kangaroos than placental carnivores such as skunks? Or that a manatee is closer to a hyrax than cetaceans and pinnipeds? In some cases this is even more extreme, like Emerald Tree Boas and Green Tree Pythons.
Does anyone know more cases like this?

 

[Dassie rat]

There are many examples of marsupials that resemble placentals due to convergence.

A few examples of animals that look like distant relations include:

Red panda and raccoons
Caecilians and earthworms or eels
Slow-worms and snakes
Root rats, pocket gophers and African mole rats
Jerboas and kangaroo rats
Pheasant pigeons and pheasants
Coral snakes and milk snakes

 

[FelipeDBKO]

There are many examples of marsupials that resemble placentals due to convergence.

A few examples of animals that look like distant relations include:

Red panda and raccoons
Caecilians and earthworms or eels
Slow-worms and snakes
Root rats, pocket gophers and African mole rats
Jerboas and kangaroo rats
Pheasant pigeons and pheasants
Coral snakes and milk snakes

The Red pandas doesn't have any very close living relative, being in the Ailuridae family... But, like raccoons, Red pandas are part of Musteloidea superfamily, so despite the raccoons aren't very close to the Red pandas, they still one of the closest living animals of it.

 

[Norwegian moose]

A good example of convergent evolution is: how similiar itjaritjaris are to european moles, even though they do not belong to the same order.

 

[Nikola Chavkosk]

-Turacos (especially great blue turaco) to curassows
-Common spotted cuscus to some lemurs like gentle lemurs or to greater bamboo lemur

 

[aardvark250]

Hyrax and mouse look similar but one is related to elephant

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Mongoose and Malagasy vontsiras

~Thylo

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Mongoose and Malagasy vontsiras

~Thylo

To be fair, the Euplerids *are* the sister group to the Herpestids.....

 

[KevinVar]

I'd say giant anteater and aardvark would be a fair case.

 

[vogelcommando]

-Turacos (especially great blue turaco) to curassows

??? Have you ever seen one of these alive ???

 

[Nikola Chavkosk]

??? Have you ever seen one of these alive ???

Unfortunately no vogelcommando; why, you think that they not look simmilar?

I saw simmilarity in the crest and long tail feathers, and body shape - aproximately;

 

[vogelcommando]

Old World vultures and New World vultures .

 

[vogelcommando]

Unfortunately no vogelcommando; why, you think that they not look simmilar?

I saw simmilarity in the crest and long tail feathers, and body shape - aproximately;

Curassows : mainly black and/or brown ground-living birds
Touracos : most species green or blue colored canopy-living birds

 

[Nikola Chavkosk]

Curassows : mainly black and/or brown ground-living birds
Touracos : most species green or blue colored canopy-living birds

Yes of course I knew this; But they (turacos) reminded me on curassows, and great blue turaco in particular - with his crest, body size, long slender tail, and even the beak (yellow); Also plantain eaters (like violet turaco or Ross's turaco - darker color and yellow beak).

 

[FelipeDBKO]

Old World vultures and New World vultures .

But they're related (Accipitridae)

 

[FelipeDBKO]

Several marsupials look like insectivores (which are quite close to them) and rodents.

 

[KevinVar]

But they're related (Accipitridae)

In the end, isn't everything?

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Old World vultures and New World vultures .

But they're related (Accipitridae)

Nope - New World Vultures are in a different family entirely (Cathartidae) and are increasingly assigned to a different order (Cathartiformes) as well!

Several marsupials look like insectivores (which are quite close to them)

No closer than every other placental mammal - so not close at all

 

[FelipeDBKO]

Nope - New World Vultures are in a different family entirely (Cathartidae) and are increasingly assigned to a different order (Cathartiformes) as well!



No closer than every other placental mammal - so not close at all

Sorry, it was a mistake.

Yeah, I meant that they're among the most primitive placentals... It's like comparing dinosaurs and birds: evolutionarily birds are closer, but taxonomically snakes.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Yeah, I meant that they're among the most primitive placentals... It's like comparing dinosaurs and birds: evolutionarily birds are closer, but taxonomically snakes.

Nope, non-avian dinosaurs are taxonomically closer to birds as well as evolutionarily closer given that non-avian dinosaurs are within the same order (Saurischia) as birds, whilst the snakes are deeply nested within the Squamata - an order whose last common ancestor with the Archosauromorpha (the clade containing dinosaurs and hence birds, along with crocodilians and testudines) was also the last common ancestor of *all* extant reptiles.