Dad does not seem too surprised; perhaps this has happened to him before!

Last Common Ancestor (LCA) is the most recent common ancestor of two populations that came to be separated by a species barrier. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of any set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all organisms in the group are directly descended. ... Charles Darwins first sketch of an evolutionary tree from his First Notebook on Transmutation of Species (1837) Speciation is the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise. ...

LCA of Homo and Pan

The most famous LCA is the so-called “Missing Link”, the most recent common ancestor of the genera Pan and Homo, that is, of chimpanzees and humans. Look up missing link in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up pan, pan-, Pan, PAN in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up homo, homo- in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Type species Simia troglodytes Blumenbach, 1775 distribution of Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzee, often shortened to chimp, is the common name for the two extant species in the genus Pan. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). ...

Along the hominid line there have been many branches, leading for example, to Australopithecus africanus, Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis. Although every species has an LCA, the most frequent use of the term today is in reference to the branching of modern man from archaic Homo sapiens.^{[citation needed]} Binomial name †Australopithecus africanus Dart, 1925 Australopithecus africanus was an early hominid, an australopithecine, who lived between 3. ... Binomial name †Homo erectus (Dubois, 1892) Synonyms † Pithecanthropus erectus † Sinanthropus pekinensis † Javanthropus soloensis † Meganthropus paleojavanicus Homo erectus (Latin: upright man) is an extinct species of the genus Homo. ... Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (in the Middle Palaeolithic, early Stone Age). ... The term Archaic Homo sapiens refers generally to the earliest members of the species Homo sapiens, which consisted of the Neanderthals of Europe and the Middle East, the Neanderthal-like hominids of Africa and Asia, and the immediate ancestors of all these hominids. ...

Proponents of the Multiregional hypothesis would place the mrca of humankind two million years ago as an early form of Homo erectus. Up until recently, the consensus was that the last common ancestor of all mankind was born much more recently, probably in Africa, some 100,000 - 150,000 years ago. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

However, recent studies show that those dates, while valid for the most recent patrilineal and matrilineal ancestors, are far too distant for the most recent common ancestor from either side of any given family tree. Rohde, Olson, and Chang (2004)^[1], using a non-genetic model, estimated that the most recent common ancestor of all living humans may have lived within historical times (in the last 2,000 to 5,000 years). In fact, their study shows that there is likely an identical ancestors point in the last 5,000 to 15,000 years, at which time all humans who were alive either are ancestors of all humans today, or left no living descendants. The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of any set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all organisms in the group are directly descended. ... The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of any set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all organisms in the group are directly descended. ...

LCA of two species

This cladogram shows that the LCA of beetles and flies is more ancient than the LCA of moths and flies. It does not, however, indicate which of the branches represents the original line and which represents the branching species.

While the new species will owe all its genes to its LCA, the LCA itself will be a member of the original line, not the new one. Its genetic contribution to that original line may be de minimis, but as a convention the term LCA is often used as if it were the ancestor of both species. Image File history File links Typical example of a horizontally-oriented cladogram, with horizontal and vertical lines used to indicate relationships. ... Image File history File links Typical example of a horizontally-oriented cladogram, with horizontal and vertical lines used to indicate relationships. ... Greek clados = branch) or phylogenetic systematics is a branch of biology that determines the evolutionary relationships of living things based on derived similarities. ...

The more distant in time the Last Common Ancestor of two species is, the more distantly related the species will be. The LCA of elephant and earthworm, for example, lived a distant two billion years ago. The LCA of two more similar species, the elephant and tyrannosaurus, lived three hundred million years ago. The LCA of the elephant and mammoth, two closely related species, lived only seven million years ago. Binomial name Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 Synonyms Manospondylus Cope, 1892 Dynamosaurus Osborn, 1905 Nanotyrannus? Bakker, Williams & Currie, 1988 Stygivenator Olshevsky, 1995 Dinotyrannus Olshevsky, 1995 Tyrannosaurus (IPA pronunciation or ; from the Greek τυραννόσαυρος, meaning tyrant lizard) is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur. ... Species Mammuthus africanavus African mammoth Mammuthus columbi Columbian mammoth Mammuthus exilis Pygmy mammoth Mammuthus imperator Imperial mammoth Mammuthus jeffersonii Jeffersonian mammoth Mammuthus trogontherii Steppe mammoth Mammuthus meridionalis Mammuthus subplanifrons South African mammoth Mammuthus primigenius Woolly mammoth Mammuthus lamarmorae Sardinian Dwarf Mammoth A mammoth is any of a number of an...

LCA a single organism?

‎ At its most narrow definition, the LCA is the seminal individual that first coded the mutation that created the characteristic that defined the new species. However, the mutation(s) may be subtle and not initially a speciation event. In sexually-reproducing organisms, until the new species establishes itself there are going to be some, possibly many, generations of gene-swapping back to the parent branch. Depending on the process that gives rise to the species, the LCA can often be better described as the initial small, interbreeding group or clan or founding population, all members of which carry a common species-defining mutation. A seminal work [from Latin semen meaning seed] is a work from which other works grow. ... It has been suggested that mutant be merged into this article or section. ...

The Drosophila experiment conducted by Diane Dodd in 1989. Here, the LCAs are best described as founding populations.

Image File history File links Drosophila_speciation_experiment. ... Image File history File links Drosophila_speciation_experiment. ...

Other Common Ancestor Titles

The "Last Universal Ancestor" - “LUA” or "Last Universal Common Ancestor" (LUCA) or either name without the "Last," are the names given to the hypothetical and controversial single cellular organism or single cell that gave rise to all life on Earth three to four billion years ago. Last universal ancestor (LUA), the hypothetical latest living organism from which all currently living organisms descend. ... Last universal ancestor (LUA), the hypothetical latest living organism from which all currently living organisms descend. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article is about the tv programme Life on Earth. ...

Mitochondrial Eve - DNA studies show human mitochondria can trace its lineage to a “Mitochondrial Eve” who lived possibly 150,000 years ago. It should be recognized, however, that every common structure in living people - from the makings of our mitochondria to our hair follicles - has an “Eve” that lived somewhere in the great distance between the LUA of three-plus billion years ago and the Last Common Ancestor of possibly 40,000 years ago. Mitochondrial Eve (mt-mrca) is the name given by researchers to the woman who is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for all living humans. ... In cell biology, a mitochondrion is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes. ... Mitochondrial Eve (mt-mrca) is the name given by researchers to the woman who is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for all living humans. ...

“Common ancestor” - Any two species have millions of plain “common ancestors.” The ancestors of the elephant and mammoth, for example, were common to both species for billions of years - up to their split seven million years ago, this being the date of their last common ancestor.

The term common ancestor is often used in a lineage sense, which is different than the species sense discussed here. You and your cousin have three grandfathers between you, one of whom is a "common" grandfather. As you go further back, the number of your lineages and the number of your cousins increase geometrically. The term lineage can refer to several things. ...

“Most Recent” Common Ancestor - Until 1999 the terms “Last” and “Most recent” common ancestor had been used more or less interchangeably. In papers published since then, however (Rohde, Olson, and Chang, see reference, below), the term MRCA has come to mean a particular ancestor within a species - for example, a common grandfather - rather than the species’ founder. Computer simulations suggest that every person living today could trace at least one of his lineages back to a grandfather common to all of us, who lived as few as 2,000 years ago. This person (name lost to history) has been entitled the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) of All Mankind.

While each of us has inherited genes from the MRCA of All Mankind, we have also inherited genes from millions of his contemporaries. This case is different from that of the LCA, to whom every person on earth owes 100% of his genes, and to no other.

See also

• Y-chromosomal Adam
• Mitochondrial Eve
• Most Recent Common Ancestor
• Last universal ancestor
• Cladistics
• Phylogenetic tree
• Genetic genealogy
• Genealogical DNA tests
• Founder effect
• Piltdown man, actually a forgery, is the most famous of the "missing links.""

In human genetics, Y-chromosomal Adam (Y-mrca) is the male counterpart to mitochondrial Eve: the most recent common ancestor from whom all male human Y chromosomes are descended. ... Mitochondrial Eve (mt-mrca) is the name given by researchers to the woman who is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for all living humans. ... The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of any set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all organisms in the group are directly descended. ... Last universal ancestor (LUA), the hypothetical latest living organism from which all currently living organisms descend. ... It has been suggested that Clade be merged into this article or section. ... A phylogenetic tree, also called an evolutionary tree or a tree of life, is a tree showing the evolutionary interrelationships among various species or other entities that are believed to have a common ancestor. ... Genetic genealogy is the application of genetics to traditional genealogy. ... // A genealogical DNA test involves examining the nucleotides at specific locations on a persons DNA. The tests results are meant to have no informative medical value and do not determine specific genetic diseases or disorders (see possible exceptions in Medical information below); they are intended only for use in... Simple illustration of founder effect. ... The portrait painted by John Cooke in 1915. ...

Reference and other works

• Chang JT (1999) "Recent common ancestors of all present-day individuals". Advances in Applied Probability 31: 1002-1026.
• Origins of Modern Humans: Multiregional or Out of Africa? By Donald Johanson [1]
• N. Patterson et al. “Genetic evidence for complex speciation of humans and chimpanzees,” citation. [2]
• News Group Discussion sci.anthropology.paleo "Date for Last Common Ancestor?" http://groups.google.com/group/sci.anthropology.paleo/browse_frm/thread/35ade9443af17c3d/781567d4c1b1ebe6?lnk=gst&q=last+common+ancestor&rnum=2&hl=en#781567d4c1b1ebe6
• Douglas L. T. Rohde, Massachusetts Institute of Technology November 11, 2003 "On the Common Ancestors of All Living Humans" http://tedlab.mit.edu/~dr/Papers/Rohde-MRCA-two.pdf Douglas L. T. Rohde
• BBC Science & Nature: "The Day we learned to think" http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/learnthink.shtml Citation "Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) emerged in Africa roughly 100,000 years ago." This would not necessarily be the LCA, which could be more recent if defined by a non-anatomical trait.
• Richard Klein, “The Human Career,” and Richard Leakey, “People of the Lake.” suggest a recent (40,000 yrs) LCA, possibly defined by greatly improved speech capabilities (Leakey).