common descent
Universal family tree
Common descent is the biological principle that all living organisms share ancestors—that the diversity of life arose from earlier, simpler forms rather than being created separately.
Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection rests on common descent: humans and chimpanzees share a recent common ancestor, and if you go back far enough, all life connects to single-celled origins.
The fossil record supports common descent.
- monophyletic groupAncestor plus all descendants
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- cladisticsClassification by common descent
fossil record · deep time · heredity · Darwinism · homology · tree of life · mutation · comparative anatomy · evolutionary theory · DNA · Charles Darwin · origin of species · relatedness · taxonomy · evolution · offspring · genetic drift · apes
common descentspecial creation
Deity-formed life doctrine
creationism · divine creation · intelligent design · spontaneous generation · abiogenesis
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