Question

At the genetic level, what are reversals and how are these related to homoplasy?

Answer 1

Homoplasy is the exhibition of a common characteristic by two or more different species that was not inherited from their recent ancestor. Homoplasy usually occurs independently due to natural selection or adaptation. There are two types of Homoplasy.

Parallelism /convergence homoplasy - Independent acquisition of the same trait in unrelated lineages.

Reversal homoplasy - A taxa reverts back to its ancestral state. That means a trait is present in an ancestor but not its immediate descendants but may appear after several generations.