Endogenous Retroviruses PROVE we share common ancestors with the other apes. Retroviruses insert into somatic cells normally, but when they insert into germline cells it gets passed onto the host's offspring which means when the offspring make offspring the endogenous retrovirus will keep being passed on in the exact same position it was originally inserted into in the original host, forever. This is why humans and chimps share 99.9% of their endogenous retrovirus insertions, over 203,000 ERVs in the exact same position. Retroviruses insert into a random position, to share 1 single ERV in the exact same position with another individual in the same species WITHOUT evolution would be a 1 in 3 billion chance. Yet humans chimps share 99.9% of them. ERVs have the same genes as retroviruses that are around today. ERVs have LTRs which proves they were from retrovirus insertions and the LTRs share the same mutations in multiple species in the exact same ERVs in the exact same positions.


It is literally the best evidence for evolution, it is slam dunk, you can't ask for any better evidence. And theres other similar types of evidence like ALUs.

Koalas have ERVs spreading through their populations in the last 100 years, but not the isolated koala populations.