Genetic Distance between Chimpanzees and Humans

This figure is the original basis of the oft-repeated statement that chimps and humans are 99% similar. "The genetic distances between humans and chimpanzees compared with that between other organisms. These estimates of genetic distance are based on electrophoretic comparison of many proteins. One unit of genetic distance means that there is an average of one electrophoretically detectable substitution per polypeptide compared. The bars indicate the range of genetic distances found among a wide variety of organisms, including fruit flies, horseshoe crabs, salamanders, lizards, fish, bats, and rodents." (from A. C. Wilson 1976)