What is Morphology?

- Greek word, morphos = form/shape + logos = study of

- embraces the study of the structure and function
- how structure and function becomes an integrated design
- how the design becomes a factor in the evolution of a new form

MORPHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
A. SIMILARITIES
- parts are considered similar by means of three criteria namely:
1. Ancestry (Homology)
2. Function (Analogy)
3. Appearance (Homoplast)

1. HOMOLOGY
- applies to two or more features that share a common ancestry
a1. Serial Homology
- similarity between successively repeated parts in the same organism
-e.g. series of vertebrae, several of gill arches

2. ANALOGY
- features of two or more organisms that perform a similar function
- example:
- wings of a bat & wings of a butterfly
- same function however neither structure can be traced to a similar part in a common
ancestry
- turtle & dolphin forelimbs
- function as paddles & can be traced to a common ancestor
- recognizes similarity based upon similar function

3. HOMOPLASY
- features in two or more organisms that look alike
- may or may not be homologous or analogous
- ex. Turtle & dolphin flippers

B. SYMMETRY
- balanced proportions or correspondence in size & shapes of parts on opposite sides of median
plane
1. BILATERAL SYMMETRY
- a body in which right & left halves are mirror images of each other

2. RADIAL SYMMETRY
- a body that is laid out equally from a central axis so that any of several planes passing through
the center divides into equal or mirrored parts

3. SPHERICAL SYMMETRY
- any plane passing through the center dividing the body into equivalent or mirrored halves
- occurs chiefly among same protozoan group & is rare in animals
- best suited for floating & rolling

C. SEGMENTATION
- a body which is made up of repeating sections known as segments or metameres