For other uses of isomorphism, see isomorphism (disambiguation)

Isomorphism (disambiguation)

Etymology:   iso- + -morphism From Ancient Greek: -morphism: the state of having a specified shape or formIsomorphism may refer to:...

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In biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, an isomorphism is a similarity of form or structure between organisms, generally between organisms with independent ancestries, e.g. after convergent evolution

Convergent evolution

Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...

. Two organisms exhibiting isomorphism are referred to as isomorph

Isomorph

An isomorph is an organism that does not change in shape during growth. The implication is that its volume is proportional to its cubed length, and its surface area to its squared length...

s.

The separate evolution of camera eyes in vertebrates and cephalopods (and insects, and many more, in as many as fifty separate instances), is an example of isomorphism. So is the evolution of wings in insects, dinosaurs, birds, and bats.

The term isomorphism

Isomorphism

In abstract algebra, an isomorphism is a mapping between objects that shows a relationship between two properties or operations.  If there exists an isomorphism between two structures, the two structures are said to be isomorphic.  In a certain sense, isomorphic structures are...

is borrowed from mathematical usage, where it refers to a one-to-one mapping between the elements of two sets.