Comment by tdba

Orcs are elves who were corrupted and mutilated by Morgoth, so hypothetically elves and orcs might have more shared biology. Hobbits are probably an offshoot or variant of men. Elves, dwarves and men all had separate "awakenings" so they don't have any shared ancestry at all. However, earlier races of men (and especially Numenoreans) were more similar to elves, being larger, wiser and having longer lifespans.