Evolution and our primate family
Humans are primates, and evolution explains both what we share with other primates and what makes us distinct.
How evolution works
Evolution is change in the inherited traits of populations over generations. Mutation introduces new genetic variation. Natural selection favours traits that help organisms survive and reproduce in their environment. Gene flow moves genes between populations, and genetic drift causes random changes, especially in small groups.
What makes a primate
Primates share features linked to life in trees: grasping hands and often feet, nails instead of claws, forward-facing eyes with depth perception, large brains for their body size, and long periods of childhood learning. The order includes lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans. Chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest living relatives.
Classification
Scientists name species with binomial nomenclature: genus and species, as in Homo sapiens. Hominins are humans and our extinct relatives after the split from the chimpanzee line, roughly 6 to 7 million years ago. Taxonomy groups organisms by shared characteristics, and cladistics groups them by shared descent.
Flashcard
Traits that aid survival and reproduction become more common
Check your understanding
In a population of beetles, darker ones are eaten less by birds and leave more offspring. Over generations, dark beetles become common. This is: