List of examples of convergent evolution

Convergent evolution — the repeated evolution of similar traits in multiple lineages which all ancestrally lack the trait — is rife in nature, as illustrated by the examples below. The ultimate cause of convergence is usually a similar evolutionary biome, as similar environments will select for similar traits in any species occupying the same ecological niche, even if those species are only distantly related. In the case of cryptic species, it can create species which are only distinguishable by analysing their genetics. Distantly related organisms often develop analogous structures by adapting to similar environments.

In animals

Mammals

* Several groups of ungulates have independently reduced or lost side digits on their feet, often leaving one or two digits for walking. That name comes from their hooves, which have evolved from claws several times. For example, horses have one walking digit and domestic bovines two on each foot. Various other land vertebrates have also reduced or lost digits.
* Similarly, laurasiathere perissodactyls and afrothere paenungulates have several features in common, to the point of there being no obvious distinction among basal taxa of both groups.
* Many aquatic mammals or marine mammals independently came to have adaptations to live in water, such as similar-looking tail flukes in dugongs and whales. Unrelated herbivores and carnivores have adapted to marine and freshwater environments.
* The flipper forelimbs of marine mammals (cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sirenians) are a classic example of convergent evolution. There is widespread convergence at the gene level. Distinct substitutions in common genes created various aquatic adaptations, most of which also constitute parallel evolution because the substitutions in question are not unique to those animals.
* The pronghorn of North America, while not a true antelope and only distantly related to them, closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World, both behaviorally and morphologically. It also fills a similar ecological niche and is found in the same biomes.
* Members of the two clades Australosphenida and Theria evolved tribosphenic molars independently.
* The marsupial thylacine (Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf) had many resemblances to placental canids.
*Several mammal groups have independently evolved prickly protrusions of the skin – echidnas (monotremes), the insectivorous hedgehogs, some tenrecs (a diverse group of shrew-like Malagasy mammals), Old World porcupines (rodents) and New World porcupines (another biological family of rodents). In this case, because the two groups of porcupines are closely related, they would be considered to be examples of parallel evolution; however, neither echidnas, nor hedgehogs, nor tenrecs are close relatives of the Rodentia. In fact, the last common ancestor of all of these groups lived in the age of the dinosaurs. The eutriconodont Spinolestes that lived in the Early Cretaceous Period represents an even earlier example of a spiny mammal, unrelated to any modern mammal group.
* Catlike sabre-toothed predators evolved in three distinct lineages of mammals – carnivorans like the sabre-toothed cats, and nimravids ("false" sabre-tooths), the sparassodont family Thylacosmilidae ("marsupial" sabre-tooths), the gorgonopsids and the creodonts also developed long canine teeth, but with no other particular physical similarities.
* A number of mammals have developed powerful fore claws and long, sticky tongues that allow them to open the homes of social insects (e.g., ants and termites) and consume them (myrmecophagy). These include the four species of anteater, more than a dozen armadillos, eight species of pangolin (plus fossil species), eight species of the monotreme (egg-laying mammals) echidna (plus fossil species), the '' Fruitafossor'' of the Late Jurassic, the marsupial numbat, the African aardvark, the aardwolf, and possibly also the sloth bear of South Asia, all unrelated.
* Marsupial koalas of Australia have evolved fingerprints, indistinguishable from those of non-related primates, such as humans.
* The Australian honey possums acquired a long tongue for taking nectar from flowers, a structure similar to that of butterflies, some moths, and hummingbirds, and used to accomplish the same task.
* Marsupial sugar glider and squirrel glider of Australia are like the placental flying squirrel. Both lineages have independently developed wing-like flaps (patagia) for leaping from trees, and big eyes for foraging at night.
* The North American kangaroo rat, Australian hopping mouse, and North African and Asian jerboa have developed convergent adaptations for hot desert environments; these include a small rounded body shape with large hind legs and long thin tails, a characteristic bipedal hop, and nocturnal, burrowing and seed-eating behaviours. These rodent groups fill similar niches in their respective ecosystems.
* Opossums and their Australasian cousins have evolved an opposable thumb, a feature which is also commonly found in the non-related primates.
* The marsupial mole and golden mole have many resemblances to the placental mole.
* Marsupial mulgaras have many resemblances to placental mice.
* ''Planigale'' has many resemblances to the deer mouse.
* The marsupial Tasmanian devil has many resemblances to the placental hyena or a wolverine. Similar skull morphology, large canines and crushing carnassial molars.
* The marsupial lion, ''Thylacoleo carnifex'', had retractable claws, the same way the placental felines (cats) do today.
* Microbats, toothed whales and shrews developed sonar-like echolocation systems used for orientation, obstacle avoidance and for locating prey. Modern DNA phylogenies of bats have shown that the traditional suborder of echolocating bats (Microchiroptera) is not a true clade, and instead some echolocating bats are more related to non-echolocating Old World fruit bats than to other echolocating species. The implication is that echolocation in at least two lineages of bats, Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera has evolved independently or been lost in Old World fruit bats.
* Echolocation in bats and whales also both necessitate high frequency hearing. The protein prestin, which confers high hearing sensitivity in mammals, shows molecular convergence between the two main clades of echolocating bats, and also between bats and dolphins. Other hearing genes also show convergence between echolocating taxa. Recently the first genome-wide study of convergence was published, this study analysed 22 mammal genomes and revealed that tens of genes have undergone the same replacements in echolocating bats and cetaceans, with many of these genes encoding proteins that function in hearing and vision.
* Both the aye-aye lemur and the striped possum have an elongated finger used to get invertebrates from trees. There are no woodpeckers in Madagascar or Australia where the species evolved, so the supply of invertebrates in trees was large.
* ''Castorocauda'', a Jurassic Period mammal and beavers both have webbed feet and a flattened tail, but are not related.
* Prehensile tails evolved in a number of unrelated species marsupial opossums, their Australasian cousins, kinkajous, New World monkeys, tree-pangolins, tree-anteaters, porcupines, rats, skinks and chameleons, and the salamander ''Bolitoglossa''.
* Pig form, large-headed, pig-snouted and hoofs are independent in true pigs in Eurasia, peccaries in South America and the extinct entelodonts.
* Tapirs and pigs look much alike, but tapirs are perissodactyls (odd-toed ungulates) and pigs are artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates).
* Filter feeding: baleen whales like the humpback and blue whale (mammals), the whale shark and the basking shark separately, the manta ray, the Mesozoic bony fish '' Leedsichthys'', and the early Paleozoic anomalocaridid ''Aegirocassis'' have separately evolved ways of sifting plankton from marine waters.
* The monotreme platypus has what looks like a bird's beak (hence its scientific name ''Ornithorhynchus''), but is a mammal. However, it is not structurally similar to a bird beak (or any "true" beak, for that matter), being fleshy instead of keratinous.
* Red blood cells in mammals lack a cell nucleus. In comparison, the red blood cells of other vertebrates have nuclei; the only known exceptions are salamanders of the genus ''Batrachoseps'' and fish of the genus ''Maurolicus''.
* Caniforms like skunks and raccoons in North and South America and feliforms such as mongoose and civets in Asia and Africa have both evolved to fill the niche of small to medium omnivore/insectivore on their side of the world. Some species of mongoose and civet can even spray their attacker with musk similar to the skunk and some civets have also independently evolved similar markings to the raccoon such as the African civet.
*River dolphins of the three species that live exclusively in freshwater, live in different rivers: Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers of India, the Yangtze River of China, and the Amazon River. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence analysis demonstrates the three are not related.
*Mangabeys comprise three different genera of Old World monkeys. The genera ''Lophocebus'' and ''Cercocebus'' resemble each other and were once thought to be closely related, so much so that all the species were in one genus. However, it is now known that ''Lophocebus'' is more closely related to baboons, while the ''Cercocebus'' is more closely related to the mandrill.
*Sperm whale and the microscopic copepods both use the same buoyancy control system.
*The wombat is a marsupial that is often considered to be the marsupial equivalent of the North American groundhog.
*The fossa of Madagascar looks like a small cat. Fossa have semi-retractable claws. Fossa also has flexible ankles that allow it to climb up and down trees head-first, and also support jumping from tree to tree. Its classification has been controversial because its physical traits resemble those of cats, but is more closely related to the mongoose family, (Herpestidae) or most likely the family Malagasy carnivores family, (Eupleridae).
*The raccoon dog of Asia looks like the raccoon of North America (hence its scientific name ''Procyonoides'') due to its black face mask, stocky build, bushy appearance, and ability to climb trees. Despite their similarities, it is actually classified as part of the dog family, (Canidae).
* Gliders or passive flight has developed independently in flying squirrels, Australian marsupial, lizards, paradise tree snake, frogs, gliding ants and flying fish and the ancient volaticotherium that lived in the Jurassic Period looked like a flying squirrel, but is not an ancestor of squirrels.
* Amynodontidae a family of extinct rhinoceroses that are thought to have looked and behaved like squat, aquatic, hippopotamuses.
*Trichromatic color vision, separate blue, green and red vision, is found only in a few mammals and came about independently in humans, Old World monkeys and the howler monkeys of the New World, and a few Australian marsupials.
*Ruminant forestomaches came about independently in: hoatzin bird and tree sloths of the Amazon, ruminant artiodactyls (deer, cattle), colobus monkeys of the Old World and some Macropodidae.
*Adept metabolic water, acquiring water by fat combustion in xerocole desert animal and others came about independently in: camel, kangaroo rat, migratory birds must rely exclusively on metabolic water production while making non-stop flights and more.Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR), ''Nutrient Requirements of Nonhuman Primates: Second Revised Edition'' (2003), p. 144

/ref>
* Glyptodontidae, a family of extinct mammals related to armadillos, had a shell much like a tortoise or turtle. Pangolins have convergently evolved the same features.
*'' Megaladapis'', a genus of extinct lemur, bears a great resemblance to an indri or a koala (hence its nickname "koala-lemur") due to their stocky bear-like build, short stumpy tail, and presumed tufted ears.
* Palaeopropithecidae, a family of extinct lemurs, which are most likely related to the family Indriidae due to their morphology, have many similarities to sloths due to their appearance and behaviour, such as long arms, hooked fingers, and slow moving, giving them the nickname "sloth-lemurs".
* Archaeolemuridae, another family of extinct lemurs, which are also most likely related to the family Indriidae, have many similarities to monkeys and baboons due to their body plans, which are both adopted to arboreal and terrestrial lifestyle, giving them the nickname "monkey-lemurs" or "baboon-lemurs".
*South American foxes look like true foxes, despite being a unique canid genus more closely related to wolves and jackals.Vorohuen (sic; Vorohué) Formation
at Fossilworks.org
*Whales exhibit hyperphalangy -- an increase in the number of phalanges beyond three phalanges-per-digit. Whales share this characteristic with extinct marine reptiles, but not present-day marine mammals.
*A very derived form of hyperphalangy, with six or more phalanges per digit, evolved convergently in rorqual whales and oceanic dolphins, and was likely associated with another wave of signaling within the interdigital tissues.
*'' Palorchestes'', a genus of the extinct marsupial family Palorchestidae, which are closely related to wombats and koalas in the suborder Vombatiformes, was nicknamed the "marsupial tapir" due to the shape of the animal's nasal bones, which was presumed that they possessed a short proboscis, like those of placental tapirs today.
* Mongooses bear a striking resemblance to many mustelids, but belong to a distinctly different suborder—the Feliformia (all those carnivores sharing more recent origins with the cats) and not the Caniformia (those sharing more recent origins with the dogs). Because mongooses and mustelids occupy similar ecological niches, they had led to similarity in form and behavior.
* Despite being from different families, both the giant panda (Ursidae) and the red panda ( Ailuridae) are called "pandas" not only because of their fur pattern, but because they both have false thumbs and are adapted for a specialised bamboo diet despite having the digestive system of a carnivore (hence the order Carnivora).

Prehistoric reptiles

* Pterosaurian pycnofibrils strongly resemble mammalian hair, but are thought to have evolved independently.
* Ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs had a pelvis shape similar to that of birds, or avian dinosaurs, which evolved from saurischian (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs.
* The Heterodontosauridae evolved a tibiotarsus which is also found in modern birds. These groups aren't closely related.
* Ankylosaurs and glyptodont mammals both had spiked tails.
* The sauropods and giraffes independently evolved long necks.
* The horned snouts of ceratopsian dinosaurs like ''Triceratops'' have also evolved several times in Cenozoic mammals: rhinos, brontotheres, ''Arsinoitherium'', and ''Uintatherium''.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'
Winter 2010 Appendix.
/ref>
* Rhyncosaur teeth resemble that of the extant rodents.
* Billed snouts on the duck-billed dinosaurs hadrosaurs strikingly convergent with ducks and duck-billed platypus.
* Ichthyosaurs (such as ''Ophthalmosaurus'') are marine reptile of the Mesozoic era which looked strikingly like dolphins. Several groups of marine reptiles evolved hyperphalangy similar to modern whales.
* Toothless beaks are independently derived in ornithomimosaurian, alvarezsaurian, therizinosaurian, oviraptorosaurian and ceratopsian dinosaurs like ''Triceratops'', certain pterosaurs, birds, turtles, and cephalopods like squid, cuttlefish, and octopus.
* The " Pelycosauria" and the Ctenosauriscidae bore striking resemblance to each other because they both had a sail-like fin on their back. The pelycosaurs are synapsids (more closely related to mammals) while the ctenosauriscids are archosaurs (closely related to crocodilians, pterosaurs and dinosaurs). Also, the spinosaurids had sail-like fins on their backs, when they were not closely related to either.
** Also, ''Acrocanthosaurus'' and ''Ouranosaurus'', which are not closely related to either pelycosaurs, ctenosauriscids or spinosaurids, also had similar, but thicker, spines on their vertebrae.
* ''Noasaurus'', ''Baryonyx'', and ''Megaraptor'', all unrelated, all had an enlarged hand claw that were originally thought to be placed on the foot, as in dromaeosaurs. A similarly modified claw (or in this case, finger) is on the hand of ''Iguanodon''.
* The ornithopods had feet and beaks that resembled that of birds, but are only distantly related.
* Three groups of dinosaurs, the Tyrannosauridae, Ornithomimosauria, and the Troodontidae, all evolved an arctometatarsus, independently.
* Some placodonts (like '' Cyamodus'', '' Psephoderma'', ''Henodus'' and especially '' Placochelys'') bear striking resemblance to sea turtles (and turtles in general) in terms of size, shell, beak, mostly toothless jaws, paddle-shaped limbs and possibly other adaptations for aquatic lifestyle.
*Herbivorous dinosaurs exhibited convergent evolution towards one of two feeding strategies, one strategy resembling mammalian herbivores (emphasizing chewing-specialized morphology, with the skull acquiring and processing food) and another strategy analogous to herbivory in birds and reptiles (emphasizing a specialized gut as in the avian gizzard, with the skull used only for acquiring rather than processing food).

File:Henodus chelyops - Naturmuseum Senckenberg - DSC02191.JPG, ''Henodus chelyops'' (Late Triassic), a placodont
File:Proganochelys Quenstedti.jpg, '' Proganochelys quenstedti'' (Late Triassic), a turtle

Extant reptiles

* The thorny devil (''Moloch horridus'') is similar in diet and activity patterns to the Texas horned lizard (''Phrynosoma cornutum''), although the two are not particularly closely related.
* Modern crocodilians resemble prehistoric phytosaurs, champsosaurs, certain labyrinthodont amphibians, and perhaps even the early whale ''Ambulocetus''. The resemblance between the crocodilians and phytosaurs in particular is quite striking; even to the point of having evolved the graduation between narrow- and broad-snouted forms, due to differences in diet between particular species in both groups.
* Death adders strongly resemble true vipers, but are elapids.
* Legless lizards evolved multiple times independently, including snakes, which are also legless lepidosaurs nested among legged lizards. Major examples of unrelated legless lizards include glass lizards (family Anguidae, related to legged alligator lizards) and flap-footed lizards (family Pygopodidae, related to geckos), which each may be mistaken for snakes.
* Large tegu lizards of South America have converged in form and ecology with monitor lizards, which are not present in the Americas.
* Anole lizards, with populations on isolated islands, are one of the best examples of both adaptive radiation and convergent evolution. Anoles on a given island evolve into multiple body types and ecological preferences, and the same set of body types appears in unrelated species across distant islands.
* The Asian sea snake '' Enhydrina schistosa'' (beaked sea snake) looks just like the Australian sea snake '' Enhydrina zweifeli'', but in fact is not related.
*The emerald tree boa and the green tree python are from two different families (boas and pythons), yet are very similar in appearance and ecology.

Avian

*Cretaceous ''Hesperornithes'' were much like modern diving ducks, loons and grebes. ''Hesperornithes'' had the same lobed feet like grebes, with the hind legs very far back, that most likely they could not walk on land.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2012) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'
Winter 2011 Appendix.
/ref>
* The little auk of the north Atlantic (Charadriiformes) and the diving-petrels of the southern oceans (Procellariiformes) are remarkably similar in appearance and habits.
* The Eurasian magpie is a corvid, the Australian magpie is not.
* Penguins in the Southern Hemisphere evolved similarly to flightless wing-propelled diving auks in the Northern Hemisphere: the Atlantic great auk and the Pacific mancallines.
* Vultures are a result of convergent evolution: both Old World vultures and New World vultures eat carrion, but Old World vultures are in the eagle and hawk family (Accipitridae) and use mainly eyesight for discovering food; the New World vultures are of obscure ancestry, and some use the sense of smell as well as sight in hunting. Birds of both families are very big, search for food by soaring, circle over sighted carrion, flock in trees, and have unfeathered heads and necks.

Image:Nubianvulture.jpeg, Nubian vulture, an Old World vulture
Image:Turkey_vulture_profile.jpg, Turkey vulture, a New World vulture
image:Convergent evolution 12.JPG, Hummingbird, a New World bird, with a sunbird, an Old World bird

*Hummingbirds resemble sunbirds. The former live in the Americas and belong to an order or superorder including the swifts, while the latter live in Africa and Asia and are a family in the order Passeriformes. Also the nectar-feeding Hawaiian honeycreepers resemble the two and differs from other honeycreeper.
* Flightlessness has evolved in many different birds independently. However, taking this to a greater extreme, the terror birds, Gastornithiformes and dromornithids (ironically all extinct) all evolved the similar body shape (flightlessness, long legs, long necks, big heads), yet none of them were closely related. They also share the trait of being giant, flightless birds with vestigial wings, long legs, and long necks with the ratites, although they are not related.
* Certain longclaws (''Macronyx'') and meadowlarks (''Sturnella'') have essentially the same striking plumage pattern. The former inhabit Africa and the latter the Americas, and they belong to different lineages of Passerida. While they are ecologically quite similar, no satisfying explanation exists for the convergent plumage; it is best explained by sheer chance.
* Resemblances between swifts and swallows is due to convergent evolution. The chimney swift was originally identified as chimney swallow (''Hirundo pelagica'') by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, before being moved to the swift genus '' Chaetura'' by James Francis Stephens in 1825.
* Downy woodpecker and hairy woodpecker look almost the same, as do some Chrysocolaptes'' and ''Dinopium'' flamebacks, the smoky-brown woodpecker and some '' Veniliornis'' species, and other ''Veniliornis'' species and certain ''" Picoides"'' and '' Piculus''. In neither case are the similar species particularly close relatives.
* Many birds of Australia, like wrens and robins, look like Northern Hemisphere birds but are not related.
* Oilbird like microbats and toothed whales developed sonar-like echolocation systems used for locating prey.
* The brain structure, forebrain, of hummingbirds, songbirds, and parrots responsible for vocal learning (not by instinct) is very similar. These types of birds are not closely related.
*Seriemas and secretary birds very closely resemble the ancient dromaeosaurid and troodontid dinosaurs. Both have evolved a retractable sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot, both have feathers, and both are very similar in their overall physical appearance and lifestyle.
* Migrating birds like, Swainson's thrushes can have half the brain sleep with the other half awake. Dolphins, whales, Amazonian manatee and pinnipeds can do the same. Called Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep.
*Brood parasitism, laying eggs in the nests of birds of other species, happens in types of birds that are not closely related.
*Gallopheasants and junglefowl have similar tail-feathers but evolved them independently.

Fish

* Aquatic animals that swim by using an elongated fin along the dorsum, ventrum, or in pairs on their lateral margins (such as Oarfish, Knifefish, Cephalopods) have all come to the same ratio of amplitude to wavelength of fin undulation to maximize speed, 20:1.
* Mudskippers exhibit a number of adaptations to semi-terrestrial lifestyle which are also usually attributed to Devonian tetrapodomorphs such as ''Tiktaalik'': breathing surface air, having eyes positioned on top of the head, propping up and moving on land using strong fins.

File:Tiktaalik roseae life restor.jpg, Tiktaalik roseae - artistic interpretation. Neil Shubin, suggests the animal could prop up on its fins to venture onto land, though many palaeonthologists reject this idea as outdated
File:Boleophthalmus boddarti - Laem Phak Bia.jpg, Boleophthalmus boddarti - a mudskipper which is believed to share some features with extinct fishapods in terms of adaptations to terrestrial habitats
File:A group of mudskipper on land.jpg, A group of mudskippers coming ashore - they use pectoral fins to prop up and move on land. Some scientists believe Tiktaalik to have acted likewise

* Goby dorsal finned like the lumpsuckers, yet they are not related.
* The Rhenanids became extinct over 200 million years before the first stingrays evolved, yet they share quite a similar appearance.
* Sandlance fish and chameleons have independent eye movements and focusing by use of the cornea.
* Acanthurids and mbuna are both aggressive, brightly colored fish that feed principally on aufwuchs, although the former is found only in marine environments, while the latter is only found in freshwater Lake Malawi.
* Cichlids of South America and the " sunfish" of North America are strikingly similar in morphology, ecology and behavior.
* The peacock bass and largemouth bass are excellent examples. The two fishes are not related, yet are very similar. Peacock bass are native of South America and is a Cichla. While largemouth bass are native to Southern USA states and is a sunfish. others will surely be described (but see the results based on DNA data).
* The antifreeze protein of fish in the arctic and Antarctic, came about independently. AFGPs evolved separately in notothenioids and northern cod. In notothenioids, the AFGP gene arose from an ancestral trypsinogen-like serine protease gene.
*Electric fish: electric organs and electrosensory systems evolved independently in South American Gymnotiformes and African Mormyridae.
* Eel form are independent in the North American brook lamprey, neotropical eels, and the African spiny eel.
* Stickleback fish have repeatedly moved between marine and freshwater environments, with widespread convergent evolution to adapt and readapt to these environments in different species.
* Flying fish can fly up to 400 m (1,300 ft) at speeds of more than 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) at a maximum altitude of more than 6 m (20 ft), much like other flying birds, bats and other gliders.
* Extinct fish of the family Thoracopteridae, like '' Thoracopterus'' or '' Potanichthys'', were similar to modern flying fish (gliding ability thanks to enlarged pair of pectoral fins and a deeply forked tail fin) which is not, however, considered to be their descendant.
* The cleaner wrasse '' Labroides dimidiatus'' of the Indian Ocean is a small, longitudinally-striped black and bright blue cleaner fish, just like the cleaner goby ''Elacatinus evelynae'' of the western Atlantic.
* The fish of the now discredited genus ''Stylophthalmus'' are only distantly related, but their larvae (Stomiiformes and Myctophiformes) have developed similar, stalked eyes. (see: Stylophthalmine trait)
* Sawfish, a ray and unrelated sawshark have sharp transverse teeth for hunting.
*Underwater camouflage is found independently in many fish like: leafy seadragon ''(large part of its body is just for camouflage'', pygmy seahorse, leaf scorpionfish, flounder, peacock flounder. Some have active camouflage that changes with need.
* Distraction eye, many fish have spot on the tail to fool prey. Prey are not sure which is the front, the direction of travel.
*Gills appear in unrelated fish, some amphibians, some crustacean, aquatic insects and some mollusk, like freshwater snails, squid, octopus.

File:Cleaner station komodo.jpg, Cleaner wrasse ''Labroides dimidiatus'' servicing a Bigeye squirrelfish
File:Elacatinus evelynae.jpg, Caribbean cleaning goby ''Elacatinus evelynae''

Amphibians

* Plethodontid salamanders and chameleons have evolved a harpoon-like tongue to catch insects.
* The Neotropical poison dart frog and the ''Mantella'' of Madagascar have independently developed similar mechanisms for obtaining alkaloids from a diet of mites and storing the toxic chemicals in skin glands. They have also independently evolved similar bright skin colors that warn predators of their toxicity (by the opposite of crypsis, namely aposematism).
* Caecilians are lissamphibians that secondarily lost their limbs, superficially resembling snakes and legless lizards.
* Oldest known tetrapods (semi-aquatic Ichthyostegalia) resembled giant salamanders (body plan, lifestyle), though they are considered to be only distantly related.
*A number of amphibians such as lungless salamanders and the Bornean flat-headed frog separately evolved lunglessness.

File:Elginerperton.jpg, '' Elginerpeton pacheni'', the oldest known tetrapod
File:Andrias japonicus model.jpg, ''Andrias japonicus

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