As we try to figure out the evolutionary trees for languages and species, we sometimes get led astray by similar but unrelated words and traits.

LEARN MORE

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

• Cladistics: A method of recreating evolutionary trees based on evidence about relationships.
• Etymology: The study of the origin of words and how they have changed throughout history.
• Convergent Evolution: A process whereby different species evolve similar traits in order to adapt to similar environments.
• Polyphyly: A group containing members with multiple ancestral sources.
• Homoplasy: A trait shared by a group of species that is not shared in their common ancestor.
• False Cognates: Pairs of words with similar sounds and meanings but unrelated etymologies.

If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: A photographer who has taken amazing photos of unrelated people who look alike: http://mentalfloss.com/article/53774/photos-unrelated-people-who-look-exactly-alike

CREDITS

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Script Writer: David Goldenberg Script Editor: Emily Elert Video Illustrator: Jessika Raisor Video Director: David Goldenberg, Emily Elert Video Narrator: Emily Elert With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Kate Yoshida, Ever Salazar, Peter Reich Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info

IMAGE CREDITS

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Lappet-faced Vulture (Old World) - Steve Garvie https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torgos_tracheliotos_-Masai_Mara_National_Reserve,_Kenya-8.jpg

Turkey vulture (New World) - Flickr User minicooper93402 https://www.flickr.com/photos/minicooper93402/5440526260

Crested Porcupine (Old World) - Flickr user 57777529@N02 https://www.flickr.com/photos/57777529@N02/5398915634

North American Porcupine (New World) - iStock.com/GlobalP https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/north-american-porcupine-or-canadian-porcupine-or-common-porcupine-walking-gm515605852-88578399

Chinchilla lanigera - Nicolas Guérin https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinchilla_lanigera_(Wroclaw_zoo)-2.JPG

Naked Mole Rat - Roman Klementschitz https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nacktmull.jpg

Ganges river dolphin - Zahangir Alom, NOAA (Public Domain) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platanista_gangetica_noaa.jpg

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin - Flickr user 53344659@N05 https://www.flickr.com/photos/53344659@N05/4978423771/

Orcinus orcas - Robert Pittman, NOAA (Public Domain) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Killerwhales_jumping.jpg

Euphorbia obesa - Frank Vincentz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E_obesa_symmetrica_ies.jpg

Astrophytum asterias - David Midgley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astrophytum_asterias1.jpg

Sweet William Dwarf - Nicholas M. Bashour https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spring_Flowers.JPG

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REFERENCES

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Atkinson, Q. and Gray, R. (2005). Darimont, C., Fox, C., Bryan, H., and Reimchen, C. (2015). Curious Parallels and Curious Connections — Phylogenetic Thinking in Biology and Historical Linguistics. Systematic Biology. 54:5 (513-526). Retrieved from: https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/54/4/513/2842862

Atkinson, Quentin. (2018). Personal Communication. Department of Evolution and Human Behavior at the University of Auckland.

Bennu, D. (2004). The Evolution of Birds: An Overview of the Avian Tree of Life. Lab Animal. 33 (42-28)). Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/laban0504-42

De La Fuente, J.(2010). Urban legends: Turkish kayık ‘boat’ and “Eskimo” qayaq ‘kayak’. Studia Linguistica. 127 (7-24). Retrieved from: http://www.ejournals.eu/Studia-Linguistica/2010/2010/art/180/