Abstract
In this paper, we propose a unified terminology of convergence, in which the phenomenon of convergent evolution is the set, and the types of convergent evolution are subsets of that phenomenon. The set of the convergence phenomenon contains all of the same or very similar traits that have evolved independently in different lineages of organisms. This set contains three subsets that specify the three pathways by which evolution may produce convergence: allo-convergent evolution, iso-convergent evolution, and retro-convergent evolution. Allo-convergent evolution is the independent evolution of the same or very similar new trait from different precursor traits in different lineages, iso-convergent evolution is the independent evolution of the same or very similar new trait from the same precursor trait in different lineages, and retro-convergent evolution is the independent re-evolution of the same or very similar trait to an ancestral trait in different lineages. This unified convergence terminology is proposed to replace the older and confusing terms parallel evolution, reverse evolution, and convergent evolution sensu stricto.
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Acknowledgments
McGhee would like to acknowledge the support of the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (the KLI) and the Santa Fe Institute (the SFI) for his research into the phenomenon of convergent evolution. Hue would like to thank her INRA and CNRS collaborators in the EvolUCIA proposal as, even though the proposal was not granted, it sparked her interest in evolutionary concepts. Pontarotti would like to acknowledge that this work was supported by the French Government under the “investissements d’avenir” (Investments for the Future) program managed by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR, National Agency for Research) (reference: Méditerranée Infection 10-IAHU-03).
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McGhee, G.R., Hue, I., Dardaillon, J., Pontarotti, P. (2018). A Proposed Terminology of Convergent Evolution. In: Pontarotti, P. (eds) Origin and Evolution of Biodiversity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95954-2_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95954-2_18
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