What's the difference between ancestral and derived?

Question

What's the difference between ancestral and derived?

Answer 1

These are special terms that refer to particular anatomical or behavioral traits when comparing two or more organisms. Derrived traits evolved in one species after it branced off from others.  Ancestral traits are those that two species share because of common ancestry.  All birds have wings because their common ancestor did.  They are ancestral traits. But bats' wings are not ancestral to birds' wings- they evolved seperately.  They are derrived traits.  But bats and birds both have, say, backbones because their common ancestor had a backbone.  Backbones in birds and bats are ancestral traits.

The difference is most useful when comparing very similar species to determine taxonomic relationships. (How closely they are related).

Answer 2

Ancestral is where your family comes from. Derived, is where an idea or concept comes from.

Answer 3

This is usually used in a sense of ancestral vs. derived traits. An ancestral trait or primitive one is a trait that was retained by a species from its ancestor. A derived trait is one that has evolved. Both of these terms must be used relative to a classification group.

E.G. Among primates, the relatively shortened and straight spine of a gorilla is a derived trait (it was not present in the common ancestor of all primates).

However, the shortened spine of a gorilla is ancestral to apes (it is present in all apes and in the common ancestor of apes).

Answer 4

ancestral is the original species that anothe species branched off from

ie  apes would continue to be in the ancestral state as they were in the beginning, while mankind is   "derived" from the ancestor

Answer 5

derived is when a trait shows up that was NOT present in a common ancestor.

ancestral/primitive characters WERE present in a common ancestor.

these terms are relative because it's when you're comparing 2+ species/populations

Answer 6

As a species, some people speculate that we DERIVED some of our cold weather adaptation techniques from other hominids (Neanderthal) who were already established in colder regions of Earth than modern humans had been and in that case we didn't come directly from their lineage but we do what they did, which makes us a child of sorts.  What stupid suckas!  Cuz as soon as we learned what we needed, we starved those big dumb cavemen. Modern FTW! :P