What is the tree of life?
The tree of life shows how all life on earth is related. Each leaf represents a different species. The branches show how these many species evolved from common ancestors over billions of years. In our interactive tree of life you can explore the relationships between 2,235,076 species and wonder at 105,344 images on a single zoomable page.
- 2,235,076 species
- 105,344 images
Biodiversity and Conservation...
We want to help everyone appreciate biodiversity and the need to conserve it.
Red leaves on our tree of life show species known to be under threat of extinction.
Green leaves are either okay for now but might be nearly threatened.
Most leaves are grey meaning that it's not known how threatened they are.
What they say...
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This project has enormous potential both as a tool for increasing public knowledge and engagement but also as an aid to research in Conservation and Biodiversity.
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OneZoom is a brilliant, interactive tool for understanding the scope and scale of the tree of life, including highlights for conservation priorities.
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This will revolutionize how we teach and understand the Tree of Life. It is an invaluable tool for communicating the grand scope of life's history.
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I showed OneZoom to my colleagues as - honestly - the most impressive visualization of scientific results I have ever come across.
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One of the coolest things I've seen on the internet
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In my opinion, it is the best visualisation of evolution that's out there for the lay person.
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OneZoom is probably my favorite website of all time.
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…simply the most useful tool for understanding phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships.
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OneZoom really helps get my mind around the complexities of the tree of life.
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The best interactive tree of life ever!
Become a sponsor...
OneZoom is a registered non-profit in the UK, all our products are available for free. 848 people like you have helped us by making donations. Their names have appeared as sponsors on 1498 leaves of our tree of life leaves of our tree of life.
Only one name per leaf so get your favourite while you can, for yourself or as a gift.
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Okapi
(Okapia johnstoni)Sponsored forDavid Ebbo — Thanks for improving OneZoom -
Streptococcus agalactiae ATCC 13813Sponsored byRafael Araos Bralic — Santiago, Chile
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Mothmidge
(Clogmia albipunctata)Sponsored byHenk van der Wal — Leiden -
Graceful rock crab
(Metacarcinus gracilis)Sponsored forM. Grace Capossela — You are a remarkable friend -
Hammock skipper
(Polygonus leo)Sponsored forLeo David Frishberg — Dad, Architect, UX -
Comb liverwort
(Riccardia multifida)Sponsored forRiccarda Scherner-Grießhammer — ohne Moos nichts los! -
Philippine eagle
(Pithecophaga jefferyi)Sponsored byJoe Olivas, Jr. — San Diego, California -
Northern flicker
(Colaptes auratus)Sponsored byDwight Gaudet — Bend, OR -
Chinook salmon or king salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)Sponsored forNanci & Heath — Bear Trail Lodge, AK -
Saffron milkcap
(Lactarius deliciosus)Sponsored forAlexander Hofmeier -
Common milkweed
(Asclepias syriaca)Sponsored forDonald C. Buck — Best of friends and a dear man -
Lady's slipper orchid
(Paphiopedilum druryi)Sponsored forAdolfas Žalys — Vilnius, Lietuva -
Barking frog
(Craugastor augusti)Sponsored forCecil Schwalbe — Barking Frog enthusiast -
Zombie ant fungus
(Ophiocordyceps unilateralis)Sponsored forShelley Bell -
Common toadflax
(Linaria vulgaris)Sponsored forJacqueline Struzzieri -
Brazilian scorpion
(Tityus serrulatus)Sponsored forNathan Wilson — I love you. Vivian Wilson -
Piedmont white truffle
(Tuber magnatum)Sponsored forSarah Hofmeier -
Candelabra tree
(Araucaria angustifolia)Sponsored byMario Lucio Lopes — Piracicaba, SP, Brazil -
Mountain lady's slipper
(Cypripedium montanum)Sponsored forCarolina Moyer — my Mountain Lady -
Bridled nailtail wallaby
(Onychogalea fraenata)Sponsored forSimon Cullen
What we've been up to...
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14 December 2021
Announcing the publication of ‘Dynamic visualisation of million-tip trees: The OneZoom project’ out today in Methods in Ecology and Evolution. This publication accompanies OneZoom version 3.5 'Chocolate chip starfish' and explains a lot of the science behind the OneZoom project.
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16 October 2020
OneZoom version 3.4.1 released with new public APIs providing information on the popularity of species and representative images for groups of species as well as other tools intentended for use by researchers and other science communication projects.
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15 October 2020
A new publication, Dynamic visualisation of million-tip trees: the OneZoom project, is now live on BioRxiv describing a lot of the research that's gone on behind the scenes over the last five years to make OneZoom a reality.
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30 April 2020
Thank you to the first people who supported us with sponsorship four years ago. Your sponsored leaves would normally be up for renewal right now. We've decided to extend your sponsorships for free so you don't have to worry about it at this difficult time during a global pandemic. We will write to all our sponsors giving plenty of notice when it's time to renew.