<P> In biology , homology is the existence of shared ancestry between a pair of structures , or genes , in different taxa . A common example of homologous structures is the forelimbs of vertebrates , where the wings of bats , the arms of primates , the front flippers of whales and the forelegs of dogs and horses are all derived from the same ancestral tetrapod structure . Evolutionary biology explains homologous structures adapted to different purposes as the result of descent with modification from a common ancestor . Homology was explained by Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution in 1859 , but had been observed before this , from Aristotle onwards , and it was explicitly analysed by Pierre Belon in 1555 . The term was applied to biology by the anatomist Richard Owen in 1843 . </P>
<P> In biology , homology is the existence of shared ancestry between a pair of structures , or genes , in different taxa . A common example of homologous structures is the forelimbs of vertebrates , where the wings of bats , the arms of primates , the front flippers of whales and the forelegs of dogs and horses are all derived from the same ancestral tetrapod structure . Evolutionary biology explains homologous structures adapted to different purposes as the result of descent with modification from a common ancestor . Homology was explained by Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution in 1859 , but had been observed before this , from Aristotle onwards , and it was explicitly analysed by Pierre Belon in 1555 . The term was applied to biology by the anatomist Richard Owen in 1843 . </P>
what term describes features that are similar in structure but different in function
what term describes features that are similar in structure but different in function
homology
homology