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The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
s that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean,
Sumatran Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent ...
and Tapanuli orangutan); ''
Gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...
'' (the eastern and
western gorilla The western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') is a great ape found in Africa, one of two species of the hominid genus ''Gorilla''. Large and robust with males weighing around , the hair is significantly lighter in color than the eastern gorilla, '' ...
); '' Pan'' (the
chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative t ...
and the
bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...
); and ''
Homo ''Homo'' () is the genus that emerged in the (otherwise extinct) genus '' Australopithecus'' that encompasses the extant species ''Homo sapiens'' ( modern humans), plus several extinct species classified as either ancestral to or closely rela ...
'', of which only modern humans remain. Several revisions in classifying the great apes have caused the use of the term ''"hominid"'' to vary over time. The original meaning of "hominid" referred only to humans (''Homo'') and their closest extinct relatives. However, by the 1990s humans, apes, and their ancestors were considered to be "hominids". The earlier restrictive meaning has now been largely assumed by the term ''"
hominin The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The ...
"'', which comprises all members of the human clade after the split from the chimpanzees (''Pan''). The current meaning of "hominid" includes all the great apes including humans. Usage still varies, however, and some scientists and laypersons still use "hominid" in the original restrictive sense; the scholarly literature generally shows the traditional usage until the turn of the 21st century. Within the taxon Hominidae, a number of extant and known extinct, that is, fossil, genera are grouped with the humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas in the subfamily Homininae; others with orangutans in the subfamily Ponginae (see classification graphic below). The most recent common ancestor of all Hominidae lived roughly 14 million years ago, when the ancestors of the orangutans speciated from the ancestral line of the other three genera.Dawkins R (2004) '' The Ancestor's Tale''. Those ancestors of the family Hominidae had already speciated from the family Hylobatidae (the gibbons), perhaps 15 to 20 million years ago. Due to the close genetic relationship between humans and the other great apes, certain
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
organizations, such as the
Great Ape Project The Great Ape Project (GAP), founded in 1993, is an international organization of primatologists, anthropologists, ethicists, and others who advocate a United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Great Apes that would confer basic legal right ...
, argue that nonhuman great apes are persons and should be given basic
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
. Twenty-nine countries have instituted research bans to protect great apes from any kind of scientific testing.


Evolution

In the early
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
, about 22 million years ago, there were many species of arboreally adapted primitive catarrhines from East Africa; the variety suggests a long history of prior diversification. Fossils at 20 million years ago include fragments attributed to ''
Victoriapithecus ''Victoriapithecus macinnesi'' was a primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simian ...
'', the earliest Old World monkey. Among the genera thought to be in the ape lineage leading up to 13 million years ago are ''
Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
'', ''
Rangwapithecus ''Rangwapithecus'' is an extinct genus of ape from the Early Miocene of Kenya. Late Miocene phalanges from Hungary have also been assigned to this genus, but were later reclassified as ''Dryopithecus''. Description ''Rangwapithecus'' weighed app ...
'', ''
Dendropithecus ''Dendropithecus'' is an extinct genus of apes native to East Africa between 20 and 15 million years ago. ''Dendropithecus'' was originally suggested to be related to modern gibbons, based primarily on similarities in size, dentition, and skeleta ...
'', '' Limnopithecus'', ''
Nacholapithecus ''Nacholapithecus kerioi'' was an ape that lived 14-15 million years ago during the Middle Miocene. Fossils have been found in the Nachola formation in northern Kenya. The only member of the genus ''Nacholapithecus'', it is thought to be a key ge ...
'', ''
Equatorius ''Equatorius'' is an extinct genus of kenyapithecine primate found in central Kenya at the Tugen Hills. Thirty-eight large teeth belonging to this middle Miocene hominid in addition to a mandibular and partially complete skeleton dated 15.58 Ma ...
'', '' Nyanzapithecus'', '' Afropithecus'', ''Heliopithecus'', and '' Kenyapithecus'', all from East Africa. At sites far distant from East Africa, the presence of other generalized non- cercopithecids, that is, non-monkey primates, of middle Miocene age—''
Otavipithecus ''Otavipithecus namibiensis'' is an extinct species of ape from the Miocene of Namibia. The fossils were discovered at the Berg Aukas mines in the foothills of the Otavi mountains, hence the generic name. The species was described in 1992 by G ...
'' from cave deposits in Namibia, and '' Pierolapithecus'' and '' Dryopithecus'' from France, Spain and Austria—is further evidence of a wide diversity of ancestral ape forms across Africa and the Mediterranean basin during the relatively warm and equable climatic regimes of the early and middle Miocene. The most recent of these far-flung Miocene apes ( hominoids) is '' Oreopithecus'', from the fossil-rich coal beds in northern Italy and dated to 9 million years ago. Molecular evidence indicates that the lineage of gibbons (family Hylobatidae), the "lesser apes", diverged from that of the great apes some 18–12 million years ago, and that of orangutans (subfamily Ponginae) diverged from the other great apes at about 12 million years. There are no fossils that clearly document the ancestry of gibbons, which may have originated in a still-unknown South East Asian hominoid population; but fossil proto-orangutans, dated to around 10 million years ago, may be represented by '' Sivapithecus'' from India and '' Griphopithecus'' from Turkey. Species close to the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans may be represented by '' Nakalipithecus'' fossils found in Kenya and '' Ouranopithecus'' found in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
. Molecular evidence suggests that between 8 and 4 million years ago, first the gorillas (genus ''Gorilla''), and then the chimpanzees (genus ''Pan'') split off from the line leading to the humans. Human DNA is approximately 98.4% identical to that of chimpanzees when comparing single nucleotide polymorphisms (see
human evolutionary genetics Human evolutionary genetics studies how one human genome differs from another human genome, the evolutionary past that gave rise to the human genome, and its current effects. Differences between genomes have anthropological, medical, historical a ...
). The fossil record, however, of gorillas and chimpanzees is limited; both poor preservation—rain forest soils tend to be acidic and dissolve bone—and
sampling bias In statistics, sampling bias is a bias in which a sample is collected in such a way that some members of the intended population have a lower or higher sampling probability than others. It results in a biased sample of a population (or non-human f ...
probably contribute most to this problem. Other hominins probably adapted to the drier environments outside the African equatorial belt; and there they encountered antelope, hyenas, elephants and other forms becoming adapted to surviving in the East African savannas, particularly the regions of the Sahel and the
Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serenget ...
. The wet equatorial belt contracted after about 8 million years ago, and there is very little fossil evidence for the divergence of the hominin lineage from that of gorillas and chimpanzees—which split was thought to have occurred around that time. The earliest fossils argued by some to belong to the human lineage are ''
Sahelanthropus tchadensis ''Sahelanthropus tchadensis'' is an extinct species of the Homininae (African apes) dated to about , during the Miocene epoch. The species, and its genus ''Sahelanthropus'', was announced in 2002, based mainly on a partial cranium, nicknamed ''T ...
'' (7 Ma) and '' Orrorin tugenensis'' (6 Ma), followed by '' Ardipithecus'' (5.5–4.4 Ma), with species ''Ar. kadabba'' and ''Ar. ramidus''.


Taxonomy


Terminology

The classification of the great apes has been revised several times in the last few decades; these revisions have led to a varied use of the word "hominid" over time. The original meaning of the term referred to only humans and their closest relatives—what is now the modern meaning of the term "
hominin The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The ...
". The meaning of the
taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...
Hominidae changed gradually, leading to a modern usage of "hominid" that includes all the great apes including humans. A number of very similar words apply to related classifications: * A '' hominoid'', sometimes called an ape, is a member of the superfamily Hominoidea: extant members are the gibbons ( lesser apes, family Hylobatidae) and the hominids. * A ''hominid'' is a member of the family Hominidae, the great apes: orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and humans. * A ''hominine'' is a member of the subfamily Homininae: gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans (excludes orangutans). * A ''hominin'' is a member of the tribe
Hominini The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The ...
: chimpanzees and humans. * A ''homininan'', following a suggestion by Wood and Richmond (2000), would be a member of the subtribe Hominina of the tribe
Hominini The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The ...
: that is, modern humans and their closest relatives, including Australopithecina, but excluding chimpanzees.. In this suggestion, the new subtribe of ''Hominina'' was to be designated as including the genus ''Homo'' exclusively, so that ''Hominini'' would have two subtribes, ''Australopithecina'' and ''Hominina'', with the only known genus in ''Hominina'' being ''Homo''. '' Orrorin'' (2001) has been proposed as a possible ancestor of ''Hominina'' but not ''Australopithecina''.. Designations alternative to ''Hominina'' have been proposed: ''Australopithecinae'' (Gregory & Hellman 1939) and ''Preanthropinae'' (Cela-Conde & Altaba 2002); * A ''human'' is a member of the genus ''Homo'', of which ''Homo sapiens'' is the only extant species, and within that ''Homo sapiens sapiens'' is the only surviving
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...
. A cladogram indicating common names (cf. more detailed cladogram below):


Extant and fossil relatives of humans

Hominidae was originally the name given to the family of humans and their (extinct) close relatives, with the other
great ape The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the ...
s (that is, the orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees) all being placed in a separate family, the Pongidae. However, that definition eventually made Pongidae
paraphyletic In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...
because at least one great ape species (the chimpanzees) proved to be more closely related to humans than to other great apes. Most taxonomists today encourage monophyletic groups—this would require, in this case, the use of Pongidae to be restricted to just one closely related grouping. Thus, many
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize ...
s now assign ''Pongo'' (as the ''sub''family Ponginae) to the family Hominidae. The taxonomy shown here follows the monophyletic groupings according to the modern understanding of human and great ape relationships. Humans and close relatives including the tribes
Hominini The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The ...
and Gorillini form the subfamily Homininae (see classification graphic below). (A few researchers go so far as to refer the chimpanzees and the gorillas to the genus ''Homo'' along with humans.) But, it is those fossil relatives more closely related to humans than the chimpanzees that represent the especially close members of the human family, and without necessarily assigning subfamily or tribal categories. Many extinct hominids have been studied to help understand the relationship between modern humans and the other extant hominids. Some of the extinct members of this family include '' Gigantopithecus'', '' Orrorin'', '' Ardipithecus'', ''
Kenyanthropus ''Kenyanthropus'' is a hominin genus identified from the Lomekwi site by Lake Turkana, Kenya, dated to 3.3 to 3.2 million years ago during the Middle Pliocene. It contains one species, ''K. platyops'', but may also include the 2 million year ...
'', and the
australopithecine Australopithecina or Hominina is a subtribe in the tribe Hominini. The members of the subtribe are generally ''Australopithecus'' ( cladistically including the genera ''Homo'', '' Paranthropus'', and ''Kenyanthropus''), and it typically inclu ...
s ''
Australopithecus ''Australopithecus'' (, ; ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genus ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans) emerged within ''Australopithecus'', as sister to e.g. ''Australo ...
'' and '' Paranthropus''. The exact criteria for membership in the tribe Hominini under the current understanding of human origins are not clear, but the taxon generally includes those
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
that share more than 97% of their DNA with the modern human
genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...
, and exhibit a capacity for
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
or for simple
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
s beyond their 'local family' or band. The
theory of mind In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind). This includes the knowledge that others' mental states may be different fro ...
concept—including such faculties as empathy, attribution of mental state, and even empathetic deception—is a controversial criterion; it distinguishes the adult human alone among the hominids. Humans acquire this capacity after about four years of age, whereas it has not been proven (nor has it been disproven) that gorillas or chimpanzees ever develop a theory of mind. This is also the case for some New World monkeys outside the family of great apes, as, for example, the capuchin monkeys. However, even without the ability to test whether early members of the Hominini (such as ''
Homo erectus ''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor ...
'', '' Homo neanderthalensis'', or even the australopithecines) had a theory of mind, it is difficult to ignore similarities seen in their living cousins. Orangutans have shown the development of culture comparable to that of chimpanzees, and some say the orangutan may also satisfy those criteria for the
theory of mind In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind). This includes the knowledge that others' mental states may be different fro ...
concept. These scientific debates take on political significance for advocates of great ape personhood.


Phylogeny

Below is a cladogram with extinct species. It is indicated approximately how many million years ago (Mya) the clades diverged into newer clades.


Extant

There are eight living species of great ape which are classified in four genera. The following classification is commonly accepted: * Family Hominidae: humans and other great apes; extinct genera and species excluded ** Subfamily Ponginae ***Tribe Pongini **** Genus ''Pongo'' ***** Bornean orangutan, ''Pongo pygmaeus'' ****** ''Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus'' ****** ''Pongo pygmaeus morio'' ****** ''Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii'' ***** Sumatran orangutan, ''Pongo abelii'' ***** Tapanuli orangutan, ''Pongo tapanuliensis'' ** Subfamily Homininae ***Tribe Gorillini **** Genus ''Gorilla'' ***** Western gorilla, ''Gorilla gorilla'' ******
Western lowland gorilla The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in montane, primary and secondary forest and lowland swampland in central Af ...
, ''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'' ****** Cross River gorilla, ''Gorilla gorilla diehli'' ***** Eastern gorilla, ''Gorilla beringei'' ******
Mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018. There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Centra ...
, ''Gorilla beringei beringei'' ******
Eastern lowland gorilla The eastern lowland gorilla (''Gorilla beringei graueri'') or Grauer's gorilla is a Critically Endangered subspecies of eastern gorilla endemic to the mountainous forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Important populations of t ...
, ''Gorilla beringei graueri'' ***Tribe
Hominini The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The ...
**** Subtribe
Panina The genus ''Pan'' consists of two extant species: the chimpanzee and the bonobo. Taxonomically, these two ape species are collectively termed panins; however, both species are more commonly referred to collectively using the generalized term ...
***** Genus ''Pan'' ****** Chimpanzee, ''Pan troglodytes'' *******
Central chimpanzee The central chimpanzee or the tschego (''Pan troglodytes troglodytes'') is a subspecies of chimpanzee closely related to the other great apes such as gorillas, orangutans, and humans. The central chimpanzee can be found in Central Africa, mostly i ...
, ''Pan troglodytes troglodytes'' *******
Western chimpanzee The western chimpanzee, or West African chimpanzee, (''Pan troglodytes verus'') is a Critically Endangered subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It inhabits western Africa, specifically Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Guine ...
, ''Pan troglodytes verus'' *******
Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes ellioti'') is a subspecies of the common chimpanzee which inhabits the rainforest along the border of Nigeria and Cameroon. Male Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees can weigh up to 70 kilos with a body ...
, ''Pan troglodytes ellioti'' ******* Eastern chimpanzee, ''Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii'' ******
Bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...
, ''Pan paniscus'' **** Subtribe Hominina ***** Genus ''Homo'' ****** Human, ''Homo sapiens'' ******* Anatomically modern human, ''Homo sapiens sapiens''


Fossil

In addition to the extant species and subspecies, archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists have discovered and classified numerous extinct great ape species as below, based on the taxonomy shown. Family Hominidae * Subfamily Ponginae ** Tribe Lufengpithecini
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
*** '' Lufengpithecus'' **** ''
Lufengpithecus lufengensis ''Lufengpithecus'' () is an extinct genus of ape in the subfamily Ponginae. It is known from thousands of dental remains and a few skulls and probably weighed about . It contains three species: ''L. lufengensis'', ''L. hudienensis'' and ''L. ke ...
'' **** '' Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis'' **** ''Lufengpithecus hudienensis'' *** '' Meganthropus'' **** ''Meganthropus palaeojavanicus'' ** Tribe Sivapithecini
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
*** ''
Ankarapithecus ''Ankarapithecus'' is a genus of extinct ape. It was probably frugivorous, and would have weighed about . Its remains were found close to Ankara in central Turkey beginning in the 1950s. It lived during the Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also ...
'' **** ''Ankarapithecus meteai'' *** '' Sivapithecus'' **** ''Sivapithecus brevirostris'' **** ''Sivapithecus punjabicus'' **** ''Sivapithecus parvada'' **** ''Sivapithecus sivalensis'' **** ''Sivapithecus indicus'' *** '' Gigantopithecus'' **** ''Gigantopithecus bilaspurensis'' **** ''Gigantopithecus blacki'' **** ''Gigantopithecus giganteus'' ** Tribe Pongini *** '' Khoratpithecus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
**** '' Khoratpithecus ayeyarwadyensis'' **** ''
Khoratpithecus piriyai ''Khoratpithecus'' is an extinct genus of pongin primates that lived during the late Miocene (7–9 million years ago) in Myanmar and Thailand. Three species belong to this genus: *''Khoratpithecus chiangmuanensis'' from Thailand (Chaim ...
'' **** '' Khoratpithecus chiangmuanensis'' *** ''Pongo'' (orangutans) **** '' Pongo hooijeri''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
* Subfamily Homininae ** Tribe Dryopithecini
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
*** '' Kenyapithecus'' **** ''Kenyapithecus wickeri'' *** '' Danuvius'' **** ''Danuvius guggenmosi'' *** '' Pierolapithecus'' **** ''Pierolapithecus catalaunicus'' *** '' Udabnopithecus'' **** ''Udabnopithecus garedziensis'' *** '' Ouranopithecus'' **** ''Ouranopithecus macedoniensis'' *** ''
Otavipithecus ''Otavipithecus namibiensis'' is an extinct species of ape from the Miocene of Namibia. The fossils were discovered at the Berg Aukas mines in the foothills of the Otavi mountains, hence the generic name. The species was described in 1992 by G ...
'' **** ''Otavipithecus namibiensis'' *** '' Morotopithecus'' (placement disputed) **** ''Morotopithecus bishopi'' *** '' Oreopithecus'' (placement disputed) **** ''Oreopithecus bambolii'' *** '' Nakalipithecus'' **** ''Nakalipithecus nakayamai'' *** ''
Anoiapithecus ''Anoiapithecus'' is an extinct ape genus thought to be closely related to ''Dryopithecus''. Both genera lived during the Miocene, approximately 12 million years ago. Fossil specimens named by Salvador Moyà-Solà are known from the deposits f ...
'' **** ''Anoiapithecus brevirostris'' *** ''
Hispanopithecus ''Hispanopithecus'' is a genus of apes that inhabited Europe during the Miocene epoch. It was first identified in a 1944 paper by J. F. Villalta and M. Crusafont in . Anthropologists disagree as to whether ''Hispanopithecus'' belongs to the sub ...
'' **** ''Hispanopithecus laietanus'' **** ''Hispanopithecus crusafonti'' *** '' Dryopithecus'' **** ''
Dryopithecus wuduensis ''Dryopithecus'' is a genus of extinct great apes from the middle–late Miocene boundary of Europe 12.5 to 11.1 million years ago (mya). Since its discovery in 1856, the genus has been subject to taxonomic turmoil, with numerous new species b ...
'' **** '' Dryopithecus fontani'' **** '' Dryopithecus brancoi'' **** ''Dryopithecus laietanus'' **** ''Dryopithecus crusafonti'' *** ''
Rudapithecus ''Rudapithecus'' is a chimpanzee-likeLászló Kordos: 50 years of Rudapithecus
(in Hu ...
'' **** ''Rudapithecus hungaricus'' *** '' Samburupithecus'' **** ''Samburupithecus kiptalami'' ** Tribe Gorillini *** ''
Chororapithecus ''Chororapithecus'' is an extinct great ape from the Afar region of Ethiopia roughly 8 million years ago during the Late Miocene, comprising one species, ''C. abyssinicus''. It is known from 9 isolated teeth discovered in a 2005–2007 survey of ...
''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(placement debated) **** ''Chororapithecus abyssinicus'' ** Tribe
Hominini The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The ...
*** Subtribe
Panina The genus ''Pan'' consists of two extant species: the chimpanzee and the bonobo. Taxonomically, these two ape species are collectively termed panins; however, both species are more commonly referred to collectively using the generalized term ...
*** Subtribe Hominina **** '' Graecopithecus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** ''Graecopithecus freybergi'' **** '' Sahelanthropus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** ''Sahelanthropus tchadensis'' ****'' Orrorin''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** ''Orrorin tugenensis'' **** '' Ardipithecus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** '' Ardipithecus ramidus'' ***** ''
Ardipithecus kadabba ''Ardipithecus kadabba'' is the scientific classification given to fossil remains "known only from teeth and bits and pieces of skeletal bones", originally estimated to be 5.8 to 5.2 million years old, and later revised to 5.77 to 5.54 million ye ...
'' **** ''
Kenyanthropus ''Kenyanthropus'' is a hominin genus identified from the Lomekwi site by Lake Turkana, Kenya, dated to 3.3 to 3.2 million years ago during the Middle Pliocene. It contains one species, ''K. platyops'', but may also include the 2 million year ...
''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** ''Kenyanthropus platyops'' **** '' Praeanthropus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** '' Praeanthropus bahrelghazali'' ***** '' Praeanthropus anamensis'' ***** '' Praeanthropus afarensis'' **** ''
Australopithecus ''Australopithecus'' (, ; ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genus ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans) emerged within ''Australopithecus'', as sister to e.g. ''Australo ...
''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** ''
Australopithecus africanus ''Australopithecus africanus'' is an extinct species of australopithecine which lived between about 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa. The species has been recovered from Taung, Sterkfontei ...
'' ***** '' Australopithecus garhi'' ***** ''
Australopithecus sediba ''Australopithecus sediba'' is an extinct species of australopithecine recovered from Malapa Cave, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. It is known from a partial juvenile skeleton, the holotype MH1, and a partial adult female skeleton, the para ...
'' ***** ''
Australopithecus deyiremeda ''Australopithecus deyiremeda'' is an extinct species of australopithecine from Woranso–Mille, Afar Region, Ethiopia, about 3.5 to 3.3 million years ago during the Pliocene. Because it is known only from three partial jawbones, it is unclear ...
'' **** '' Paranthropus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** '' Paranthropus aethiopicus'' ***** ''
Paranthropus robustus ''Paranthropus robustus'' is a species of robust australopithecine from the Early and possibly Middle Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, about 2.27 to 0.87 (or, more conservatively, 2 to 1) million years ago. It has been iden ...
'' ***** '' Paranthropus boisei'' **** ''
Homo ''Homo'' () is the genus that emerged in the (otherwise extinct) genus '' Australopithecus'' that encompasses the extant species ''Homo sapiens'' ( modern humans), plus several extinct species classified as either ancestral to or closely rela ...
'' – close relatives of modern humans ***** '' Homo gautengensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(also classified as ''H. habilis'') ***** ''
Homo rudolfensis ''Homo rudolfensis'' is an extinct species of archaic human from the Early Pleistocene of East Africa about 2 million years ago (mya). Because ''H. rudolfensis'' coexisted with several other hominins, it is debated what specimens can be confi ...
''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(membership in ''Homo'' uncertain) ***** '' Homo habilis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(membership in ''Homo'' uncertain) ***** '' Homo naledi''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** Dmanisi Man, ''Homo georgicus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(thought by some to be an early subspecies of ''Homo erectus'') ***** '' Homo ergaster''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(considered by some to be an early subspecies of ''Homo erectus'') ***** ''
Homo erectus ''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor ...
''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
****** '' Homo erectus bilzingslebenensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
******
Java Man Java Man (''Homo erectus erectus'', formerly also ''Anthropopithecus erectus'', ''Pithecanthropus erectus'') is an early human fossil discovered in 1891 and 1892 on the island of Java (Dutch East Indies, now part of Indonesia). Estimated to be b ...
, ''Homo erectus erectus''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
******
Lantian Man Lantian Man (), ''Homo erectus lantianensis'') is a subspecies of ''Homo erectus'' known from an almost complete mandible from Chenchiawo (陈家窝) Village discovered in 1963, and a partial skull from Gongwangling(公王岭) Village discovered ...
, ''Homo erectus lantianensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
******
Nanjing Man Nanjing Man (''Homo erectus nankinensis'') is a subspecies of ''Homo erectus'' found in China. Large fragments of one male and one female skull and a molar tooth of ''H. e. nankinensis'' were discovered in 1993 in the Hulu Cave (葫芦洞) on th ...
, ''Homo erectus nankinensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
****** Peking Man, ''Homo erectus pekinensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
******
Solo Man Solo Man (''Homo erectus soloensis'') is a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' that lived along the Solo River in Java, Indonesia, about 117,000 to 108,000 years ago in the Late Pleistocene. This population is the last known record of the species. ...
, ''Homo erectus soloensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
******
Tautavel Man Tautavel Man refers to the archaic humans which—from approximately 550,000 to 400,000 years ago—inhabited the Caune de l’Arago, a limestone cave in Tautavel, France. They are generally grouped as part of a long and highly variable lineag ...
, ''Homo erectus tautavelensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
******
Yuanmou Man Yuanmou Man (, ''Homo erectus yuanmouensis'') is a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' which inhabited the Yuanmou Basin in the Yunnan Province, southwestern China, roughly 1.7 million years ago. It is the first fossil evidence of humans in China, tho ...
, ''Homo erectus yuanmouensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
*****
Flores Man ''Homo floresiensis'' also known as "Flores Man"; nicknamed "Hobbit") is an extinct species of small archaic human that inhabited the island of Flores, Indonesia, until the arrival of modern humans about 50,000 years ago. The remains of an in ...
or Hobbit, ''Homo floresiensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** '' Homo luzonensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
***** '' Homo antecessor''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(thought by some to be a late ''H. erectus'' or early ''H. heidelbergensis'') ***** '' Homo heidelbergensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(also classified as ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis'') ***** ''
Homo cepranensis Ceprano Man, Argil, and Ceprano Calvarium, refers to a Middle Pleistocene archaic human fossil, a single skull cap ( calvaria), accidentally unearthed in a highway construction project in 1994 near Ceprano in the province of Frosinone, Italy. Alt ...
''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(also classified as ''H. heidelbergensis'') ***** ''
Homo helmei The Florisbad Skull is an important human fossil of the early Middle Stone Age, representing either late ''Homo heidelbergensis'' or early ''Homo sapiens''. It was discovered in 1932 by T. F. Dreyer at the Florisbad site, Free State Province, ...
''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(also classified as late ''H. heidelbergensis'' or early ''H. sapiens'') ***** '' Homo tsaichangensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(thought by some to be a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' or a Denisovan) ***** Denisovans (scientific name not yet assigned)
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
*****
Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an Extinction, extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ag ...
, ''Homo neanderthalensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(sometimes called ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis'') ***** '' Homo rhodesiensis''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
(thought by some to be an African subspecies of ''H. heidelbergensis'' or an early ''H. sapiens'') ***** Modern human, ''Homo sapiens'' (sometimes called ''Homo sapiens sapiens'') ****** '' Homo sapiens idaltu''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
****** Archaic ''Homo sapiens''
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...


Description

The great apes are tailless primates, with the smallest living species being the bonobo at 30–40 kilograms in weight, and the largest being the eastern gorillas, with males weighing 140–180 kilograms. In all great apes, the males are, on average, larger and stronger than the females, although the degree of
sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
varies greatly among species. Although most living species are predominantly quadrupedal, they are all able to use their hands for gathering food or nesting materials, and, in some cases, for tool use. All species are omnivorous, but chimpanzees and orangutans primarily eat fruit. When gorillas run short of fruit at certain times of the year or in certain regions, they resort to eating shoots and leaves, often of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
, a type of grass. Gorillas have extreme adaptations for chewing and digesting such low-quality forage, but they still prefer fruit when it is available, often going miles out of their way to find especially preferred fruits. Humans, since the Neolithic revolution, consume mostly
cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
s and other
starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human die ...
y foods, including increasingly highly processed foods, as well as many other domesticated plants (including fruits) and meat. Hominid teeth are similar to those of the Old World monkeys and gibbons, although they are especially large in gorillas. The dental formula is . Human teeth and jaws are markedly smaller for their size than those of other apes, which may be an adaptation to not only having supplanted with extensive tool use the role of jaws in hunting and fighting, but also eating cooked food since the end of the
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
. Gestation in great apes lasts 8–9 months, and results in the birth of a single offspring, or, rarely, twins. The young are born helpless, and require care for long periods of time. Compared with most other mammals, great apes have a remarkably long adolescence, not being weaned for several years, and not becoming fully mature for eight to thirteen years in most species (longer in orangutans and humans). As a result, females typically give birth only once every few years. There is no distinct breeding season. Gorillas and chimpanzees live in family groups of around five to ten individuals, although much larger groups are sometimes noted. Chimpanzees live in larger groups that break up into smaller groups when fruit becomes less available. When small groups of female chimpanzees go off in separate directions to forage for fruit, the dominant males can no longer control them and the females often mate with other subordinate males. In contrast, groups of gorillas stay together regardless of the availability of fruit. When fruit is hard to find, they resort to eating leaves and shoots. Because gorilla groups stay together, the male is able to monopolize the females in his group. This fact is related to gorillas' greater sexual dimorphism relative to that of chimpanzees; that is, the difference in size between male and female gorillas is much greater than that between male and female chimpanzees. This enables gorilla males to physically dominate female gorillas more easily. In both chimpanzees and gorillas, the groups include at least one dominant male, and young males leave the group at maturity.


Legal status

Due to the close genetic relationship between humans and the other great apes, certain
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
organizations, such as the
Great Ape Project The Great Ape Project (GAP), founded in 1993, is an international organization of primatologists, anthropologists, ethicists, and others who advocate a United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Great Apes that would confer basic legal right ...
, argue that nonhuman great apes are persons and, per the Declaration on Great Apes, should be given basic
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
. In 1999, New Zealand was the first country to ban any great ape experimentation, and now 29 countries have currently instituted a research ban to protect great apes from any kind of scientific testing. On 25 June 2008, the Spanish parliament supported a new law that would make "keeping apes for circuses, television commercials or filming" illegal. On 8 September 2010, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
banned the testing of great apes.


Conservation

The following table lists the estimated number of great ape individuals living outside zoos.


See also

*
Bili ape The Bili apes or Bondo mystery apes were names given in 2003 in sensational reports in the popular media to a purportedly new species of highly aggressive, giant ape supposedly inhabiting the wetlands and savannah around of the village of Bili in ...
* '' Dawn of Humanity'' (2015 PBS film) * Great ape language * Planet of the Apes franchise *
Great Ape Project The Great Ape Project (GAP), founded in 1993, is an international organization of primatologists, anthropologists, ethicists, and others who advocate a United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Great Apes that would confer basic legal right ...
* Great ape research ban *
Great Apes Survival Partnership The Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) is a UNEP and UNESCO-led World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Type II Partnership, established in 2001, that aims to conserve the non-human great apes ( chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangu ...
*
International Primate Day International Primate Day, September 1, is an annual educational observance event organized since 2005 largely by British-based Animal Defenders International (ADI) and supported annually by various primate-oriented advocacy organizations, speaks ...
*
Kinshasa Declaration on Great Apes The Kinshasa Declaration on Great Apes was a high-level political statement on the future of (non-human) great apes. It was signed during the Intergovernmental Meeting on Great Apes and the first council meeting of the Great Apes Survival Partners ...
* List of human evolution fossils * List of individual apes *
Oldest hominids Humans are the longest-lived hominid species, with a Human named Jeanne Calment being the longest-lived hominid ever, at 122 years. Other members of the family Hominidae are shorter-lived. This article lists the oldest known individuals of each ...
* ''
Prehistoric Autopsy ''Prehistoric Autopsy'' is a 2012 British television documentary film series shown in three one-hour episodes on BBC Two. The series is about human evolution and is narrated by biologist George McGavin and anatomist Alice Roberts. Graeme Thomso ...
'' (2012 BBC documentary) * Primate cognition * '' The Mind of an Ape'' * Timeline of human evolution


Notes


References


External links


The Animal Legal and Historical Center at Michigan State University College of Law
Great Apes and the Law


Additional information on great apes




at
TalkOrigins Archive The TalkOrigins Archive is a website that presents mainstream science perspectives on the antievolution claims of young-earth, old-earth, and "intelligent design" creationists. With sections on evolution, creationism, geology, astronomy and homin ...

For more details on Hominid species, including excellent photos of fossil hominids

''New Scientist'' 19 May 2003 – Chimps are human, gene study implies

''Scientific American'' magazine (April 2006 Issue) Why Are Some Animals So Smart?
* A new mediterranean hominoid-hominid link discovered, ''Anoiapithecus brevirostris'', "Lluc"
A unique Middle Miocene European hominoid and the origins of the great ape and human clade

Human Timeline (Interactive)
Smithsonian,
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7. ...
(August 2016). {{Authority control Apes Extant Miocene first appearances Human evolution Mammal families Messinian first appearances Primate families Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxa described in 1825