There are five lines of evidence that support evolution: the fossil record, biogeography, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, and molecular biology.

In scientific terms, the evolutionary history and relationship of an organism or group of organisms is called its phylogeny. A phylogeny describes the relationships of an organism, such as from which organisms it is thought to have evolved, to which species it is most closely related, and so forth.

A phylogenetic tree is a diagram used to reflect evolutionary relationships among organisms or groups of organisms.

A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics.

A cladogram is a branched diagram that shows the relationships among organisms, including common ancestors. PHYLOGENY, which is the study of evolutionary relationships.

A branching diagram is used to show the characteristics that are shared by organisms as well as which characteristics cause organisms to separate (or branch) from each other on the evolutionary tree to become new species. The line pointing to the right shows the evolution of certain characteristics through time.

Branching tree diagrams are groups within groups. Starting at the bottom, organisms branch off as characteristics are added. The organisms with the fewest number of shared characteristics are at the bottom, while the organisms with the greatest number of shared characteristics are found at the top.

A phylogenetic tree is a branching diagram that shows evolutionary relationships.

Systematics operates to identify relative kinship and evolutionary intersects among species. Examine the following classification chart. Which pair of organisms are most closely related? Organisms 2 and 3 are most closely related because they have the same family name.

Although figures vary from study to study, it’s currently generally accepted that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and their close relatives the bonobos (Pan paniscus) are both humans’ closest-living relatives, with each species sharing around 98.7% of our DNA.

chimpanzees

Even bananas surprisingly still share about 60% of the same DNA as humans!

“Chimps are incredibly strong and fast so humans are easily overpowered.” Indeed, chimpanzees have been shown to be about four times as strong as humans comparable in size, according to evolutionary biologist Alan Walker, formerly of Pennsylvania State University.

Chimps are far stronger than we are. Slate writes: A chimpanzee had, pound for pound, as much as twice the strength of a human when it came to pulling weights. The apes beat us in leg strength, too, despite our reliance on our legs for locomotion.

A Silverback gorilla can lift 4,000 lb (1,810 kg) on a bench press, while a well-trained man can only lift up to 885 lb (401.5 kg. Research shows that a gorilla can lift up to 27 times their full body weight.

Humans—even professional fighters or soldiers—never do this, unless they are in such a state of psychosis that they might as well be wild animals. This makes the human’s fighter’s main hope of winning—almost immediately incapacitating the gorilla—very problematic.

A group of 2–4 female lions would have a similar advantage over a lone tigress. They conclude that while one on one, a tiger would certainly best a lion, in the wild the lion pride could hold their own against the solitary tiger.

Great apes like chimps, bonobos and gorillas can’t make fists with their hands, so they can’t actually punch, making it difficult to directly compare our fighting abilities with theirs.

Of all the species in the world, the largest—and most dangerous—is the saltwater crocodile. These ferocious killers can grow up to 23 feet in length, weigh more than a ton, and are known to kill hundreds each year, with crocodiles as a whole responsible for more human fatalities annually than sharks.