Iterative Evolution Aldabra Rail
Aldabra rail, flightless bird species, evolved independently twice on same island (Aldabra Atoll) separated by 136,000 years, demonstrating iterative evolution—identical evolutionary pathway repeated by same ancestral lineage.
Convergent Evolution Wing and Body Forms
Convergent evolution produces similar traits in distantly related organisms facing comparable selective pressures—bat/bird wings, phylliroe sea slug fish-like bodies exemplify independent evolution toward optimal designs.
Species Concept Definitions Comparison
Science lacks agreed-upon species definition; three popular concepts—morphological, biological, phylogenetic—provide different frameworks yielding different classifications for identical organisms.
De-Extinction Methods Overview
Resurrection biology (de-extinction, species revivalism) attempts generating organisms resembling or being extinct species through three main approaches: cloning, genome editing, and back-breeding.
Pyrenean Ibex Cloning First Unextinction
Pyrenean ibex became first animal ever “unextinct” through cloning, though clone survived only minutes after birth before dying from defective lungs.
Genetic Material Preservation Challenges
De-extinction methods face fundamental limitation: extinct species’ genetic material proves insufficiently available or poorly preserved, severely limiting viable organism creation.