Question

Are all species related?

Answer 1

Species:

1. A group of individuals with similar characteristics that can interbreed, producing viable & fertile offspring.
2. A genus consists of one or many species.
3. Taxonomically, the tree of life has many branches, with each branch representing a species.
4. In the tree of life, a common ancestor is represented by a fork/division.
5. These forks separate one species from the other.
6. If we travel down the branches, we can trace the origin of all species to a group of single-celled organisms.
7. These can be referred to as the precursor to all life on Earth.
8. According to modern evolutionary biology, all living organisms are descendants of a unique ancestor commonly known as the last universal common ancestor (LUCA).
9. Therefore, all species can be considered related (directly or indirectly).