Convergent Evolution describes the acquisition of traits in two unrelated species.
Mimicry is the similarity of one species which protects one or both.
In the case of Colonial Organisms, it seems to blur the line.
I use an example related to ants. Let's say that a group of army ants collect together to recreate the body of the Goliath Bird Eating spider. Together and with specialized roles, a thousand ants are able to move and behave like the real creature. They use this form to hunt larger prey; such as scorpions, other spiders, birds and rats. So together they have created a machine, a creature that copies the form of a successful predator to both avoid predation from the ants own enemies and make them a more efficient hunter.
Is this a form of Mimicry or a form of Convergent Evolution?
i think technically mimicry. i'm not incredibly good at biology but i think convergent evolution is stuff like how echidnas and porcupines both have thorny portrusions even though they come from two separate lineages.
this is an example of a species mimicking another species for its own benefit, similar to how some animals evolve to look like poisonous species even though they themselves aren't poisonous(i can't think of an example but some insects do this).
[QUOTE=yawmwen;40299162]i think technically mimicry. i'm not incredibly good at biology but i think convergent evolution is stuff like how echidnas and porcupines both have thorny portrusions even though they come from two separate lineages.
[B]this is an example of a species mimicking another species for its own benefit, similar to how some animals evolve to look like poisonous species even though they themselves aren't poisonous(i can't think of an example but some insects do this).[/B][/QUOTE]
Coral snakes (poisonous) and milk snakes/kingsnakes (non-poisonous) do this, hence "Red on yellow, kill a fellow; Red on black, friend to Jack."
That's fucking cool
i think there is a moth that mimics a poisonous butterfly as well.
i feel like an idiot because i know a ton of examples but seem to draw a blank right when i want to name them.
[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;40302809]Coral snakes (poisonous) and milk snakes/kingsnakes (non-poisonous) do this, hence "Red on yellow, kill a fellow; Red on black, friend to Jack."[/QUOTE]
I read it as milk shakes :v:
[QUOTE=yawmwen;40303247]i think there is a moth that mimics a poisonous butterfly as well.
i feel like an idiot because i know a ton of examples but seem to draw a blank right when i want to name them.[/QUOTE]
There's a butterfly that mimics the Monarch, which is poison if memory serves.
An important thing to point out is the fact that the organism [I]itself[/I] isn't mimicking another, but rather, it has acquired a similar phenotype that is beneficial to its survival. It didn't really have much of a role in the developing of the trait other than being born with the right genes, at least in the case of non-venomous snakes mimicking venomous ones, and moths mimicking poisonous butterflies, as well as other examples.
I posted this in the first thread, then saw this one so I thought I'd bring it over.
[QUOTE=MazerRackham;40299647]That's close to the example of Hydrozoans like the Portugese Man 'O' War. Despite resembling a jellyfish they're actually a collection of different organisms (polyps) fulfilling the role of the various organs like the floating bladder or tentacles.
[t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Portuguese_Man-O-War_%28Physalia_physalis%29.jpg[/t][t]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zPLZ8w6sr2M/To87yCvLbwI/AAAAAAAABLQ/XdGsGG8EEWQ/s1600/jellyfish+001.jpg[/t]
I would characterise this more as Convergent Evolution than Mimicry. It's a difference between form and function, Dolphins don't share their body shape with fish in order to fool their prey into false security, but because fluid dynamics says that it's the best shape for moving quickly through water.
Then again I don't actually know what I'm talking about.[/QUOTE]
It's def. mimicry, convergent evolution is the acquiring of similar traits because they are beneficial to the environment, such as the body shape of sharks, seals, and whales, despite their different evolutionary backgrounds.
You can tell the difference this way:
Would the trait you are trying to identify as mimicry or convergent evolution exist if:
There were no other animals who had first expressed that sort of shape/behaviour etc. ?
For example, you mentioned ants resembling the behaviour of a spider. If there was no spider, would the ants have copied the behaviour of the spider? Likely not, since the reason that the mimicry of the spider works well is because the spider itself is an already existing successful form.
[editline]16th April 2013[/editline]
Then again, if its mimicry or convergent evolution might be completely case to case, and we'd need more information about the suggested scenario to tell what the real classification would be.
Regardless, it would be both terrifying (and awesome)
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