|
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 eastern and western gorilla); '' Pan'' (the chimpanzee and the bonobo); and ''Homo'', of which only modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') remain. Numerous revisions in classifying the great apes have caused the use of the term ''hominid'' to change over time. The original meaning of "hominid" referred only to humans (''Homo'') and their closest extinct relatives. However, by the 1990s humans and other apes were considered to be "hominids". The earlier restrictive meaning has now been largely assumed by the term ''hominin'', 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 scientis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bornean Orangutan
The Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') is an orangutan species endemic to the island of Borneo. It belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia and is the largest of the three ''Pongo'' species. It has a coarse, reddish coat and up to long arms. It is sexually dimorphic — males are larger than females and develop large cheek pads (flanges), for example. The Bornean orangutan inhabits Borneo lowland rain forests and Borneo montane rain forests up to an elevation of . Its diet includes fruits, seeds, flowers, bird eggs, sap and vines. It is highly intelligent, displaying tool use and distinct cultural patterns. It is critically endangered, with deforestation, palm oil plantations, and hunting posing a serious threat to its survival. Taxonomy The Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan diverged about 400,000 years ago, with a continued low level of gene flow between them since then. The two orangutan species were considered merely subspecies until 1996; they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonobo
The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee (less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee), is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus ''Pan (genus), Pan'' (the other being the common chimpanzee, ''Pan troglodytes''). While bonobos are today recognized as a distinct species in their own right, they were initially thought to be a subspecies of ''Pan troglodytes'', because of the physical similarities between the two species. Taxonomically, members of the chimpanzee/bonobo subtribe Panina—composed entirely by the genus ''Pan (genus), Pan''—are collectively termed ''panins''. Bonobos are distinguished from common chimpanzees by relatively long limbs, pinker lips, a darker face, a tail-tuft through adulthood, and parted, longer hair on their heads. Some individuals have sparser, thin hair over parts of their bodies. The bonobo is found in a area within the Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of the Con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumatran Orangutan
The Sumatran orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') is one of the three species of orangutans. Critically endangered, and found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, also found in Sumatra. Its common name is based on two separate local words, ''orang'' 'people; person' and ''hutan'' 'forest', derived from Malay language, Malay, and translates as 'person of the forest'. Description Male Sumatran orangutans grow to about tall and , while females are smaller, averaging and . Compared to the Bornean species, Sumatran orangutans are thinner and have longer faces; their hair is longer and has a paler red color. Evolution Fossil orangutans in Sumatra from the Pleistocene had similar diets to present day Sumatran orangutans, consisting mainly of soft fruit as evidenced by dental microwear. Behaviour and ecology Compared with the Bornean orangutan, the Sumatran orangutan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibbon
Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast India to Southeast Asia and Indonesia (including the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java). Also called the lesser apes, gibbons differ from the great apes ( chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans) in being smaller, exhibiting low sexual dimorphism, and not making nests. Like all of the apes, gibbons are tailless. Unlike most of the great apes, gibbons frequently form long-term pair bonds. Their primary mode of locomotion, brachiation, involves swinging from branch to branch for distances up to , at speeds as fast as . They can also make leaps up to , and walk bipedally with their arms raised for balance. They are the fastest of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals. Depending on the species and sex, gibbons' fur coloration varies from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hylobatidae
Gibbons () are apes in the Family (biology), family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast India to Mainland Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia and Indonesia (including the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java (island), Java). Also called the lesser apes, gibbons differ from the great apes (pan (genus), chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans) in being smaller, exhibiting low sexual dimorphism, and not making nests. Like all of the apes, gibbons are tailless. Unlike most of the great apes, gibbons frequently form long-term pair bonds. Their primary mode of locomotion, brachiation, involves swinging from branch to branch for distances up to , at speeds as fast as . They can also make leaps up to , and walk bipedally with their arms raised for balance. They are the fastest of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals. Depe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ancestor's Tale
''The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life'' is a 2004 science book by Richard Dawkins and Yan Wong that delves into the topic of evolution. The book adopts a unique approach, retracing the path of humans in reverse chronological order through evolutionary history. Along the way, it introduces readers to various species, referred to as humanity's cousins, as they converge on shared common ancestors. Drawing on scientific principles and research, "The Ancestor's Tale" offers an accessible and thought-provoking exploration of life's origins and the intricate relationships that connect all living beings. Synopsis The book follows a path backwards in time through evolution and meets different groupings of organisms. In this backward chronology, the ancestors of any set of species must eventually meet at a particular moment. The last common ancestor is the one that they all share which the authors call a "concestor". The oldest concestor, LUCA, short for Last Universal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Most Recent Common Ancestor
A most recent common ancestor (MRCA), also known as a last common ancestor (LCA), is the most recent individual from which all organisms of a set are inferred to have descended. The most recent common ancestor of a higher taxon is generally assumed to have been a species. The term is also used in reference to the ancestry of groups of genes (haplotypes) rather than organisms. The ancestry of a set of individuals can sometimes be determined by referring to an established pedigree, although this may refer only to patrilineal or matrilineal lines for sexually-reproducing organisms with two parents, four grandparents, etc. However, in general, it is impossible to identify the exact MRCA of a large set of individuals, but an estimate of the time at which the MRCA lived can often be given. Such ''time to most recent common ancestor'' (''TMRCA'') estimates can be given based on DNA test results and established mutation rates as practiced in genetic genealogy, or by reference to a non- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hominini
The Hominini (hominins) form a Tribe (biology), taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae (hominines). They comprise two extant genera: ''Homo'' (humans) and ''Pan (genus), Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos), and in standard usage exclude the genus ''Gorilla (genus), Gorilla'' (gorillas), which is grouped separately within the subfamily Homininae. The term Hominini was originally introduced by Camille Arambourg (1948), who combined the categories of ''Hominina'' and ''Simiina'' pursuant to John Edward Gray, Gray's classifications (1825). Traditionally, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans were grouped together, excluding humans, as pongidae, pongids. Since Gray's classifications, evidence accumulating from genetic phylogeny confirmed that humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas are more closely related to each other than to the orangutan. The orangutans were reassigned to the family Hominidae (great apes), which already included humans; and the gorillas were grouped as a separate tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing#Evolution of hairlessness, hairlessness, bipedality, bipedalism, and high Human intelligence, intelligence. Humans have large Human brain, brains, enabling more advanced cognitive skills that facilitate successful adaptation to varied environments, development of sophisticated tools, and formation of complex social structures and civilizations. Humans are Sociality, highly social, with individual humans tending to belong to a Level of analysis, multi-layered network of distinct social groups — from families and peer groups to corporations and State (polity), political states. As such, social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of Value theory, values, norm (sociology), social norms, languages, and traditions (co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close relative the bonobo was more commonly known as the pygmy chimpanzee, this species was often called the common chimpanzee or the robust chimpanzee. The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the only species in the genus Pan (genus), ''Pan''. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that ''Pan'' is a sister taxon to the Human evolution, human lineage and is thus humans' closest living relative. The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It is larger and more robust than the bonobo, weighing for males and for females and standing . The chimpanzee lives in groups that range in size from 15 to 150 members, although individuals travel and forage in much smaller grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 species is found in a region of midwest Africa, geographically isolated from the eastern gorilla (''Gorilla beringei''). The hair of the western species is significantly lighter in color. The western gorilla is the second largest living primate after the eastern gorilla. Two subspecies are recognised: the western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is found in most of West Africa; while the Cross River gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla diehli'') is limited to a smaller range in the north at the border of Cameroon and Nigeria. Both subspecies are listed Critically Endangered. Taxonomy A formal description of the species was provided by Thomas Savage in 1847, allying the new species to an earlier description of the chimpanzee as ''Troglodytes gorilla'' in a group of eastern simians he referred to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
