The last common ancestor of humans and domestic chickens

 

The last common ancestor of humans (Homo sapiens) and domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) was a very early amniote that lived somewhere in the late Carboniferous or early Permian period — roughly 310–320 million years ago.

It wasn’t a bird or a mammal, but rather a small, reptile-like tetrapod (sometimes called a "stem amniote") from which both Synapsids (the lineage leading to mammals) and Sauropsids (the lineage leading to reptiles, dinosaurs, and birds) descended.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Lineage split:

    • Synapsids → early “mammal-like reptiles” → mammals → primates → humans.

    • Sauropsids → early reptiles → archosaurs → dinosaurs → birds → chickens.

  • Probable candidate groups:
    The ancestor would have resembled animals such as Hylonomus or Paleothyris — small, lizard-like insect-eaters living in forests — though these are not the ancestor, just close relatives from the right time.

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