Evidence for specific phylogenies

Tentative phylogenetic scheme for the evolution of the human lineage. Solid bars indicate the
time ranges during which species are thought to have existed, based on fossil evidence. Dotted
lines signify evolutionary relationships between hominin species that have been proposed on the
basis of the fossil evidence.
Biologists who postulate phylogenies derive their most-useful evidence from the fields
of paleontology, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, and
molecular genetics. Studies of the molecular structure of genes and of the geographic
distribution of flora and fauna are also useful. The fossil record is often used to
determine the phylogeny of groups containing hard body parts; it is also used to date
divergence times of species in phylogenies that have been constructed on the basis of
molecular evidence.