noun
- similarity in the arrangement or sequence of parts or structures in different organisms, especially when not due to common ancestry.
Usage: technical; biology; geology
Examples
- The homotaxis of wing structures in birds and insects suggests convergent evolution rather than shared descent.
- Paleontologists use homotaxis to identify rock layers of similar age in different geographic regions.
- The homotaxis observed in the skeletal patterns of dolphins and sharks reflects adaptation to aquatic life.
- Geologists rely on homotaxis of fossil assemblages to correlate strata across distant locations.