Great ape

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hominids[1]
Image:Austrolopithecus africanus.jpg Australopithecus africanus reconstruction
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Suborder: Haplorrhini Infraorder: Simiiformes Parvorder: Catarrhini Superfamily: Hominoidea Family: Hominidae Gray, 1825
Genera
Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - orangutans Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - gorillas Pan - chimpanzees Homo - humans

The great apes are the members of the biological family Hominidae which includes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.^[2]

Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Classification 3 Evolution 4 Species 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Characteristics

The great apes are large, tailless primates, with the smallest living species being the bonobo at 30-40 kilograms in weight, and the largest being the 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 varies greatly between 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.^[3]

Most species are omnivorous, but with vegetable matter forming by far the major part of their diet. Chimpanzees and orangutans are predominantly fruit-eaters, while gorillas eat mainly leaves, and humans consume a wide variety of foodstuffs. The teeth are similar to those of the Old World monkeys and gibbons, although they are especially large in the gorilla. The dental formula is:

2.1.2.3

2.1.2.3

Gestation in great apes last 8-9 months, and results in the birth of a single offspring, or, rarely, twins. The young are born helpless, and the mother must invest considerable attention in their care. Compared with most other mammals, great apes have a remarkably long adolescence, not being weaned for several years, and not becoming fully mature for 8-13 years in most species (considerably longer in humans). As a result, females typically give birth only once every few years. There is no distinct breeding season.^[3]

Gorillas and chimpanzees live in family groups of around five to ten individuals, although much larger groups are sometimes noted. In both cases, the groups are established by dominant males, with females leaving the group on maturity. By contrast, orangutans are generally solitary in habits, and the social structure of humans is complex and highly variable.

[edit] Classification

This classification of the great apes has been revised several times in the last few decades. Originally, the group was restricted to humans and their extinct relatives, with the other great apes being placed in a separate family, the Pongidae. This definition is still used by many anthropologists and by lay people. However, that definition makes Pongidae paraphyletic, whereas most taxonomists nowadays encourage monophyletic groups. Thus many biologists consider Hominidae to include Pongidae as the subfamily Ponginae, or restrict the latter to the orangutans and their extinct relatives like Gigantopithecus. The taxonomy shown here follows the monophyletic groupings.

Especially close human relatives form a subfamily, the Homininae. Some researchers go so far as to include chimpanzees^[4] and gorillas^[5][6] in the genus Homo along with humans, but it is more commonly accepted to describe the relationships as shown here.

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, and the australopithecines Australopithecus and Paranthropus.

The exact criteria for membership in the Homininae are not clear, but the subfamily generally includes those species which share more than 97% of their DNA with the modern human genome, and exhibit a capacity for language or for simple cultures beyond the family or band. The theory of mind including such faculties as mental state attribution, empathy and even empathetic deception is a controversial criterion distinguishing the adult human alone among the hominids. Humans acquire this capacity at about four and a half years of age, whereas it has neither been proven nor disproven that gorillas and chimpanzees develop a theory of mind.^[7] This is also the case for some new world monkeys outside the family of great apes, as, for example, the capuchin monkeys.

However, without the ability to test whether early members of the Homininae (such as Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, or even the australopithecines) had a theory of mind, it is difficult to ignore similarities seen in their living cousins. Despite an apparent lack of real culture and significant physiological and psychological differences, some say that the orangutan may also satisfy these criteria. These scientific debates take on political significance for advocates of Great Ape personhood.

[edit] Evolution

In 2002, a 6–7 million year old fossil skull nicknamed "Toumaï" by its discoverers, and formally classified as Sahelanthropus tchadensis, was discovered in Chad and is possibly the earliest hominid fossil ever found. In addition to its age, Toumaï, unlike the 3–4 million year younger gracile australopithecine dubbed "Lucy", has a relatively flat face without the prominent snout seen on other pre-Homo hominids. Some researchers have made the suggestion that this previously unknown species may in fact be a direct ancestor of modern humans (or at least closely related to a direct ancestor). Others contend that one fossil is not enough to make such a claim because it would overturn the conclusions of over 100 years of anthropological study. A report on this finding was published in the journal Nature on July 11, 2002. While some scientists claim that it is merely the skull of a female gorilla ancestor, others have called it the most important hominin fossil since Australopithecus.

In addition to the Toumai fossil, some experts use evidence from the genome to argue that the species associated with the chimpanzees and proto-humans split interbred over a long period of time, swapping genes, before making a final separation. A paper, whose authors include David Reich and Eric Lander (Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)), was published in journal Nature in May 2006.

It is generally believed that the Pan/Homo split occurred about 6.5–7.4 million years ago, but the molecular clock (a method of calculating evolution based on the speed at which genes mutate) suggests the genera split 5.4–6.3 million years ago. Previous studies looked at average genetic differences between human and chimp. The new study compares the ages of key sequences of genes of modern humans and modern chimps. Some sequences are younger than others, indicating that chimps and humans gradually split apart over a period of 4 million years. The youngest human chromosome is the X sex chromosome which is about 1.2 million years more recent than the 22 autosomes. The X chromosome is known to be vulnerable to selective pressure. Its age suggests there was an initial split between the two species, followed by gradual divergence and interbreeding that resulted in younger genes, and then a final separation.

[edit] Species

There are seven living species of great ape, divided into four genera.

• Family Hominidae: humans and other great apes; extinct genera and species excluded.^[1]
  • Subfamily Ponginae
    • Genus Pongo
      • Bornean Orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus
        • Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus
        • Pongo pygmaeus morio
        • Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii
      • Sumatran Orangutan, Pongo abelii
  • Subfamily Homininae
    • Tribe Gorillini
      • Genus Gorilla
        • Western Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla
          • Western Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
          • Cross River Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli
        • Eastern Gorilla, Gorilla beringei
          • Mountain Gorilla, Gorilla beringei beringei
          • Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla beringei graueri
    • Tribe Hominini
      • Genus Pan
        • Common Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes
          • Central Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes troglodytes
          • West African Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes verus
          • Nigerian Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes vellerosus
          • Eastern Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii
        • Bonobo (Pygmy Chimpanzee), Pan paniscus
      • Genus Homo
        • Human, Homo sapiens sapiens

In addition to the extant species and subspecies above, archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists have discovered numerous extinct species. The list below are some of the genera of those discoveries.

• Subfamily Ponginae
  • Gigantopithecus†
  • Sivapithecus†
  • Lufengpithecus†
  • Ankarapithecus†
  • Ouranopithecus†
• Subfamily Homininae
  • Homo - Humans and their immediate ancestors
  • Oreopithecus†
  • Paranthropus†
  • Australopithecus†
  • Sahelanthropus†
  • Orrorin†
  • Ardipithecus†
  • Kenyanthropus†

[edit] See also

• Kinshasa Declaration on Great Apes
• Ape extinction
• Declaration on Great Apes
• Evolution of Homo sapiens
• Evolutionary neuroscience
• Graphical timeline of human evolution
• Great ape language
• Great Ape Project
• List of apes - notable individual apes
• The Mind of an Ape
• Great Ape research ban
• Great Apes Survival Project
• Oozaru

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Additional information on great apes
• NPR News: Toumaï the Human Ancestor
• Hominid Species at talkorigins.org
• 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?

v • d • e Extant primate families by suborder
Strepsirrhini	Cheirogaleidae · Lemuridae · Lepilemuridae · Indriidae · Daubentoniidae · Lorisidae · Galagidae
Haplorrhini	Tarsiidae · Cebidae · Aotidae · Pitheciidae · Atelidae · Cercopithecidae · Hylobatidae · Hominidae

v • d • e Apes
Extant family	Hylobatidae · Hominidae	Image:Primatenskelett-drawing.jpg
Extant genera	Hylobates · Hoolock · Nomascus · Symphalangus · Pongo · Gorilla · Pan · Homo
Extant species	Lar Gibbon · Agile Gibbon · Müller's Bornean Gibbon · Silvery Gibbon · Pileated Gibbon · Kloss's Gibbon · Western Hoolock Gibbon · Eastern Hoolock Gibbon · Siamang · Black Crested Gibbon · Eastern Black Crested Gibbon · White-cheeked Crested Gibbon · Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon · Bornean Orangutan · Sumatran Orangutan · Western Gorilla · Eastern Gorilla · Common Chimpanzee · Bonobo · Human
Ape study	Aquatic ape hypothesis · Ape language · Ape Trust · Dian Fossey · Birutė Galdikas · Jane Goodall · Chimpanzee genome project · Human genome project
Legal status	Personhood · Research ban · Declaration · Kinshasa Declaration · Great Ape Project · Survival Project
See also...	Bushmeat · Ape extinction · List of notable apes · List of fictional apes · Human evolution · Mythic Humanoids · Hominid · Planet of the Apes

ar:قردة عليا

ast:Homínidu ca:Homínid da:Menneskeabe de:Menschenaffen et:Inimlased el:Ανθρωπίδαι es:Hominidae eo:Homedoj fr:Hominidae ko:사람과 hr:Veliki čovjekoliki majmuni is:Mannætt it:Hominidae he:הומינידיים la:Hominidae lb:Mënschenafen lt:Hominidai li:Minsape hu:Hominidák nl:Hominidae ja:ヒト科 pl:Człowiekowate pt:Hominidae qu:Hatun k'usillu ru:Гоминиды simple:Hominidae fi:Ihmisapinat sv:Hominid/hominin vi:Họ Người tr:Hominidae zh:人科