What do phylogenetic trees illustrate? These diagrams don't just organize knowledge of biodiversity - they also show us that living species are the summation of their evolutionary history.

To help you explore this tree and understand the amazing mechanism behind it, we’ve created the NOVA Evolution Lab. Play this Lab and you’ll be on your way to becoming an expert in ...

and how trees are used to study various aspects of evolution. To better understand what a phylogeny represents, start by imagining one generation of butterflies of a particular species living the ...

For over a century, biologists have puzzled over the origins of animals that first emerged in ancient oceans more than 600 ...

Over many years this leads to the formation of new species. Evolutionary trees show how different species have evolved over time from common ancestors. Professor Brian Cox: Ever since life began ...

How do scientists figure out relationships between living things? Some scientists compare every single feature of every single organism to try to work out their evolutionary relationships.

In this evolutionary tree, species A and B share a recent common ancestor. Species A is therefore most similar to species B. Species F and G also share a recent, common ancestor, however this ...