Common Ancestor
공통조상
Embed This Widget
Add the script tag and a data attribute to embed this widget.
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/speciesfyi-embed@1/dist/embed.min.js" defer></script>
<div data-speciesfyi="glossary" data-slug="common-ancestor"></div>Embed via iframe for maximum compatibility.
<iframe src="https://speciesfyi.com/iframe/glossary/common-ancestor/" width="420" height="400" frameborder="0" style="border:0;border-radius:10px;max-width:100%" loading="lazy"></iframe>Paste this URL in WordPress, Medium, or any oEmbed-compatible platform.
https://speciesfyi.com/glossary/common-ancestor/Add a dynamic SVG badge to your README or docs.
[](https://speciesfyi.com/glossary/common-ancestor/)Use the native HTML custom element.
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/speciesfyi-embed@1/dist/embed.min.js" defer></script>
<speciesfyi-glossary slug="common-ancestor"></speciesfyi-glossary>Definition
The most recent organism from which two or more species have descended through evolutionary divergence.
Detailed Explanation
Identifying common ancestors allows scientists to reconstruct when lineages split and what ancestral traits looked like. The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all life lived roughly 3.8 billion years ago. Molecular clocks — calibrated using fossil dates — estimate when two lineages diverged. Common ancestor analysis underpins conservation genetics, helping managers identify evolutionarily distinct lineages worth protecting.