Can you describe a cladogram that includes humans and other primates? What evolutionary relationships does it illustrate?

Sourav PanNovember 8, 2024

Answered

A cladogram illustrating the evolutionary relationships among humans and other primates would typically depict the branching patterns that indicate how different species are related through common ancestry. Based on the search results, here’s a description of such a cladogram and the evolutionary relationships it illustrates:

Structure of the Cladogram

1. Root Node: At the base of the cladogram, there is a root node representing the common ancestor of all primates, which lived millions of years ago.
2. Major Branches: The cladogram branches into two main groups:
   • Strepsirrhini: This group includes lemurs and lorises.
   • Haplorhini: This group includes tarsiers, monkeys, and apes (including humans).
3. Further Divisions in Haplorhini:
   • Tarsiiformes: This branch represents tarsiers.
   • Anthropoidea: This branch further divides into two infraorders:
     • Platyrrhini: New World monkeys.
     • Catarrhini: Old World monkeys and apes.
4. Branching within Catarrhini:
   • Cercopithecoidea: Represents Old World monkeys.
   • Hominoidea: Represents apes, which further divides into:
     • Hylobatini: Gibbons.
     • Hominidae: Great apes, including orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans.
5. Final Branching in Hominidae:
   • The Hominidae branch splits into:
     • Ponginae: Representing orangutans (Pongo).
     • Homininae: Representing gorillas (Gorilla), chimpanzees (Pan), bonobos (Pan), and humans (Homo).

Evolutionary Relationships Illustrated

• Common Ancestry: The cladogram illustrates that all primates share a common ancestor. As you move up the branches, you see how species diverged from this ancestor over time.
• Closer Relationships: Humans are shown to be more closely related to chimpanzees and bonobos than to gorillas or orangutans. The divergence between humans and chimpanzees/bonobos occurred approximately 5.5 to 7 million years ago, while the divergence from gorillas happened about 8 to 12 million years ago.
• Convergent Evolution vs. Divergent Evolution: The cladogram highlights divergent evolution within primates, where species evolve different traits over time from a common ancestor. It contrasts with convergent evolution, where unrelated species develop similar traits due to similar environmental pressures.
• Use of Molecular Data: The relationships depicted in the cladogram are supported by molecular data showing that humans share about 99% of their DNA with chimpanzees and bonobos, reinforcing their close evolutionary relationship.