Why arent there any common ancestors around anymore?

Question

The common ancestor for humans and apes.

Answer 1

Rarely is there a specific explanation for the extinction of a specific species. The fossil record is incomplete, either because the species lived in an area where bones do not turn into fossils, or we have yet to discover the fossils.

Evolution theory suggests that the species that was our common ancestor could not succesfully compete with its various descendant species (the ancestor species of chimpanzees and the ancestor species that led to humans) for resources (food, water, and/or shelter).

The descendant species may have had a better reproductive rate, thus over-populating the area and forcing the common ancestor into less-than-desirable habitat where they were eventually picked off by predators.

The common ancestor may have been a small, localized population which was wiped out by a disaster (such as one or more volcanic eruptions - think of Pompeii and Herculaneum).

There are many events and processes that can lead to the extinction of a species while leaving descendant species virtually untouched.

Answer 2

Their descendants that adapted to their surroundings became apes and humans. Those that didn't adapt were out-competed and out-bred by those who would become the ancestors of humans and apes.

Not because humans and apes were preferred, but because the traits that distinguish the ancestors of apes and humans from the common ancestor were just slightly better suited for the environments the animals found themselves in.

Answer 3

For the same reason your great great great grandparents aren't around any more. They died.

But, their offspring left you with close and distant cousins.

Answer 4

isnt that a chimpanzee?