Biology / Unit 8 Bio 1683 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Common Ancestry, Not Common Descendant
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The idea
Two related living species, however different, share a common ancestor further back in time; neither species descended from the other.
In practice
Humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestral population; chimpanzees are not humans' ancestors, nor are humans chimpanzees' descendants.
Where people slip
"Shares a common ancestor with" is correct between two living lineages — "evolved from" applies only to an ancestor-descendant pair across time.
Your place on the trail
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