The butterfly and the moth
A. A butterfly is an insect that tends to fly during the day from the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. The butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts, egg, larva, pupa and adult. Butterflies have large, often brightly colored wings with fluttering flight.
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Most moths are nocturnal with 150,000 to 250,000 different types of species, thousands still not found yet.
B. The homologous trait is the antenna that both butterflies and moths possess. With butterflies the antenna are clubbed while in moths they are tapered. In some species of moths the antenna are enlarged into feathered organs. There are differences between this homologous trait because moths are night insects which makes it harder to seek a mate, They are not able to see well so instead males have antenna that make them more capable to seek by smell, picking up pheromones produced by females.
C. The common ancestor of these two species has not yet been determined. It has been studied that by 40 million years ago, butterfly and moth families were already in existence. However, there is a theory that butterflies and moths originated within a crustacean group that includes water fleas and fairy shrimp around 400 million years ago. Even though it is not easy to determine the common ancestor of butterflies and moths, it is easy to assume that the common ancestor possessed this trait because without it they would not be able to sense in order to survive and evolve whether it is to find a mate in order to reproduce or determine where their food is.
The tortoise and the hedgehog
A. The tortoise comes from the family of reptiles. They use their shells to shield themselves from predators, containing an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton. They tend to be reclusive even though they are not nocturnal.
The hedgehog comes from the subfamily Erinaceinae. They are nocturnal animals, known to have been recognized by their spines which are actually hollowed hairs made to be stiff with keratin. Their “spikes” are not poisonous, but cannot be easily removed.
B. Both tortoises and hedgehogs share the analogous trait to draw into themselves when they feel threatened. The hedgehog curls into a ball protecting its vulnerable parts with its outer spines, and the tortoise retracts its vulnerables such as its head, tail and feet into its protective shell made of bone. The hedgehog uses its spines to protect the most precious parts of its body while the tortoise uses its shell. Both species have developed protective features on their bodies in order to keep predators away and protect themselves from danger.
C. Hedgehogs are mammals and tortoises are reptiles. They are very distantly related so it is likely that these two species would not have inherited their behavior of withdrawing themselves from danger from a shared ancestor.
I've always wondered about butterfly and moth traits. I would guess that since both are insects, and many insects also have some form of antennae, then they probably are homologous traits. Good discussion and analysis.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting that you chose a behavioral trait as your analogy. :-) Some people would argue with that choice, since it isn't an actual physical trait but, as an anthropologist who studies behavior, I like it!
This is very interesting. The moth and the butterfly, although very similar, seem so different as well. One being beautiful and nature, and one being ... kind of a pest. The similarities between the analogous tortoise and porcupine is also interesting. Although they are very different, the sleek harder shell vs the pokey porcupine needles ... the concept of developing an inner kind of defense to protect themselves is similar. Nice work.
ReplyDelete"Both tortoises and hedgehogs share the analogous trait to draw into themselves when they feel threatened. The hedgehog curls into a ball protecting its vulnerable parts with its outer spines, and the tortoise retracts its vulnerables such as its head, tail and feet into its protective shell made of bone". I never knew that about the hedgehog. Very interesting. I as well enjoyed the bhavior comparison...and as the instruvtor mentioned, it is not a physical trait but interesting to see how it is the same thing. Nice facts!
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