Consider two very distantly related species, species a and species b. these species live in distinct but similar environments and share a trait that improves their survival and reproduction in their respective environments. which of the following is the most likely reason that species a and species b share this trait? descent from a common ancestor gene flow convergent evolution genetic drift

convergent evolution

Explanation:

If we have two species that share a similar trait or look alike a lot, but they live in places isolated from each other, and they only have a very distant relation, then it is a case of convergent evolution. This type of evolution occurs with species that are not closely related, but they live in environments where having the same or very similar traits is advantageous. This can often lead to a confusion when looking at the species only on the outside, and it can be very misleading. As an example we can take the sabretoothed predators that existed in the past. Both the smiloden and the thylacosmilus had large saber like teeth, and even their bodies looked very similar, so one would assume that they are closely related, but that was not the case. The smilodon was part of the cat family, while the thylacosmilus was a marsupial, making them very distantly related. They developed same same and some very similar traits because their environment created the evolutionary pressure for those traits to develop as they were advantageous, despite them evolving in totally different places and separately.