Organs having different structures and components but performing similar functions are called ______.

The correct answer is Analogous organs.

Key Points

• Analogous organs: The organs which are different anatomically but similar functionally are called analogous organs.
• Eg. Wings of butterflies, birds, and bats, the Eyes of octopuses & mammals, and Flippers of penguins & dolphins.
• All these have different anatomical structures but they perform the same function like Wings of butterfly, birds & bats differs in structure but all of them perform the function of flight.
• Analogous organs always show convergent evolution.
• In convergent evolution, the species of different ancestry start sharing analogous traits because of selection pressure or shared environment.

Additional Information

• Homologous organs: The organs which are similar in structural design & origin i.e. same anatomical structure but different in functions are called Homologous organs.
• Eg. The forelimbs of some animals like whales, bats & cheetah have similar anatomical structures i.e., humerus, radius, ulna, metacarpals, and phalanges but different functions.
• The forelimb of the whale is used in swimming, a bat's forelimb is used for flight while a cheetah uses the forelimb for running.
• Homologous organs always show divergent evolution
• Vestigial organs: The remnant organs of our past ancestors that are now today considered ''use-less'' are called Vestigial organs