The evolutionary process where related species become increasingly different over time as they adapt to different environments or ecological niches. It results in homologous structures with different functions.
From Latin 'divergere' meaning 'to go in different directions' and 'evolutio' meaning 'unrolling'. The concept developed in the 19th century as naturalists observed how related species could become very different when separated geographically or ecologically.
Your arm, a bat's wing, a whale's flipper, and a horse's leg are all built from the same basic bone pattern - they're proof that divergent evolution can turn one blueprint into radically different tools! It's like taking the same LEGO set and building completely different structures.
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