G'Naakbusters
Emperor Mongoose
Hominid evolution is rather obscure, though there's evidence of a lot of cross-lineage at various points. Modern humans are the result of varying degrees of hybridization. Yet all that input has been forced through several apparent genetic bottlenecks since then. We're rather odd, really, in that our species and subspecies is the only one left, and we have very little genetic variation. Despite the phenotypical diversity (sorry, Hivers) there's little genetic drift, relatively speaking, though of course there are also different concentrations of ancestry from our relatives -- like others said, neanderthals, denisovans, etc. So we're all oddly similar (not as bad as cheetahs, I don't think?) but also have different leftover lineages of the vanished subspecies.
I came across this very fun, tongue-in-cheek speculative evolution recently, a thought experiment in which the origin of humans is domesticated breeding programs among proto-hominids... by sapient elephants:
Worth a read!
I came across this very fun, tongue-in-cheek speculative evolution recently, a thought experiment in which the origin of humans is domesticated breeding programs among proto-hominids... by sapient elephants:
Worth a read!