homoplasy

[huh-mop-luh-see, hoh-muh-plas-ee, -pley-see, hom-uh-] /həˈmɒp lə si, ˈhoʊ məˌplæs i, -ˌpleɪ si, ˈhɒm ə-/
noun, Biology
1.
correspondence in form or structure, owing to a similar environment.
Origin
1865-70; homo- + -plasy
Related forms
homoplastic
[hoh-muh-plas-tik, hom-uh-] /ˌhoʊ məˈplæs tɪk, ˌhɒm ə-/ (Show IPA), adjective
Examples from the web for homoplasy
  • Still, there are a lot of cladograms out there with suspiciously low amounts of homoplasy.
  • The central theme here is something called homoplasy, a character shared by a set of species but not present in a common ancestor.