 Paracaspases are more similar to caspases than metacaspases are, indicating that this group of proteases diverged from caspases from a common metacaspase ancestor.Most non-metazoan paracaspases found in amoebas or bacteria are "type 2" paracaspases with only a caspase-like domain.The animal paracaspases are most likely not directly related to the amoeba paracaspase.