In the context of evolutionary biology, what does the term "divergent branches" refer to?
A) The process by which two or more related species become more similar due to shared environments
B) The process by which unrelated species evolve similar traits due to similar environmental pressures
C) The evolutionary process where a single ancestral species evolves into multiple different species, each adapted to different environments
D) The phenomenon where species of the same lineage become more genetically similar over time