Evolution In Charles Darwin's The Origin Of Species

When Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in his book, The Origin of Species, the only image provided in the book was of a universal phylogenetic tree or the Tree of Life. Charles Darwin visualized phylogenies, the evolutionary relationship of a group of organisms, as branches on a tree with a single universal ancestor as the trunk of the tree. The idea of all living creatures on Earth come from a single common ancestor has actually been emerging since 1758 when Linnaeus started to classify animals and plants. Branching tree of life is best represented with a natural system of life classification and arrangement by hierarchal system of larger groups clustered with smaller groups. Beside evolution, Tree of Life also metaphorically represents the general relationship between different species over time. While the concept of sharing a common ancestor is still debated even until today, so is evolution. So does evolution actually happen? Yes, it is even still and will always be happening. There are many evidences of evolution and one of it is homology. The skeletal components of various organisms’ forelimbs are considered homologous; they are structurally similar but they have different functional job and modified accordingly. Because of that, homology implies evolutionary divergence from a common ancestor

Tree of Life is now the icon of evolution that shows how all organisms on Earth actually share a common ancestor and I agree with it. It is hard not to agree when there are several strong evidences that support this theory when in all organisms we can find the presence of cytochrome c, the universal genetic code, similar cell metabolic pathway, and how all life forms essentially shared similar chemical and physical properties. Fossil records also help in supporting the evolution theory and ultimately the concept of the Tree of