From the geological record many kinds of evolutionary changes have been known. If unrelated groups come to have a similar appearance, we say that their evolution is convergent. Certain genera of fossil brachiopods and pelecypods, for e.g., had a cone-shaped shell that was cemented to the sea bottom like that of the solitary corals the explanation being that the brachiopods and the pelecypods became adopted to an environmental niche that was similar to that of the corals. If closely related groups become less similar as they evolve, their evolution is said to be divergent. Evolution that is neither convergent nor divergent is said to be parallel.
Parallelism is common to the fossil record.
This explains the influence of environment on animals in the fossil record. Also trends like orthogenetic with oriented trends and radiation type are also known from the fossil records. Thus data from the geological record has given us valuable evidence to understand the evolution of life on the earth. While evolution of the living matter as found in the geological record is a product of modern science of the earth, without entering into such details the ancient Indian texts of philosophy and Ayurveda deal with the origin of life in a different manner. In the final both the concepts are mutually complementary but not contradictory.