Scientists notice structural similarities between fossils of a land animal and an aquatic organism. They know the similarities are not a result of the two organisms having to adapt to similar environments. What can they attribute the structural similarities to?

Because the similarities are not due to adapting to similar environments, convergent evolution is not the explanation. Similar structures in organisms that do not share the same environmental pressures can be inherited from a common ancestor. So the structural similarities are attributed to common ancestry.

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