convergent evolution, n.All

85 million years before butterflies there existed another insect that looked and acted exactly like butterflies

caffeine in coffee beans, cacao and tea evolved independently as a toxic substance protecting their seeds against herbivores.

3-toed sloths and 2-toed sloths aren't closely related to each other, and each group evolved the tree-hanging lifestyle independently, an example of convergent evolution.

Caffeine evolved entirely independently in tea and coffee

Bats and dolphins independently evolved echolocation in the same way (down to the molecular level)

Convergent evolution is what happens when the gods get lazy working out new solutions to nature's recurring problems

Convergent evolution is essentially an odd kind of mapping of our world