Try Squarespace for free: http://squarespace.com/MinuteEarth And subscribe to MinuteEarth! http://goo.gl/EpIDGd 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. Thanks to our Patreon patrons https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth and our YouTube sponsors. ___________________________________________ To learn more, 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 _________________________________________ Support us on Patreon: https://goo.gl/ZVgLQZ And visit our website: https://www.minuteearth.com/ Say hello on Facebook: http://goo.gl/FpAvo6 And Twitter: http://goo.gl/Y1aWVC And download our videos on itunes: https://goo.gl/sfwS6n ___________________________________________ Credits (and Twitter handles): Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg) Script Editor: Emily Elert (@eelert) 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: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder Image Credits: 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 ___________________________________________ References: 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/