The “straight line” is not an accurate picture- but neither is the other example. Both are intended to simplify a concept to a point most people can understand it, based on the most relevant and concrete ancestors of a species. In truth, genetic mutations and adaptations abound within a species. The study of evolotuion is a non exact science as there is debate on when we even consider something as a separate species or just a mutation within a species, where the lines blur between extinction and absorption into another species- and so on. The classification of certain extreme examples of a species, phylum, etc shows most clearly where the ambiguities in the system exist. The “line” just shows a concept- that selective gene pairs through repeated breeding create new and novel organisms over time.
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