Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a
clade of
Old World simians native to sub-Saharan
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
(though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister group
Cercopithecidae form the
catarrhine
The parvorder Catarrhini , catarrhine monkeys, Old World anthropoids, or Old World monkeys, consisting of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old ...
clade, cladistically making them
monkeys (though this is the subject of much debate). Apes do not have tails due to a mutation of the
TBXT gene. In traditional and non-scientific use, the term "ape" can include tailless primates taxonomically considered Cercopithecidae (such as the
Barbary ape and
black ape), and is thus not equivalent to the scientific
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 ...
Hominoidea. There are two extant branches of the superfamily Hominoidea: the
gibbons, or lesser apes; and the
hominids, or
great apes
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 ...
.
* The family
Hylobatidae, the lesser apes, include four genera and a total of 20 species of gibbon, including the
lar gibbon
The lar gibbon (''Hylobates lar''), also known as the white-handed gibbon, is an endangered primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of the better-known gibbons and is often kept in captivity.
Taxonomy
There are five subspecies of ...
and the
siamang
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...
, all native to
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
. They are highly arboreal and
bipedal
Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...
on the ground. They have lighter bodies and smaller social groups than great apes.
* The family
Hominidae (''hominids''), the
great apes
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 ...
, include four genera comprising three extant species of
orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
s and their subspecies, two extant species of
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 or fi ...
s and their subspecies, two extant species of
panins (
bonobos
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 com ...
and
chimpanzees
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 th ...
) and their subspecies, and
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
s in a single extant subspecies.
[
Except for gorillas and humans, hominoids are agile climbers of ]tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s. Apes eat a variety of plant and animal foods, with the majority of food being plant foods, which can include fruits, leaves, stalks, roots and seeds, including nuts and grass seeds. Human diets are sometimes substantially different from that of other hominoids due in part to the development of technology and a wide range of habitation. Humans are by far the most numerous of the hominoid species, in fact outnumbering all other primates by a factor of several thousand to one.
All non-human hominoids are rare and threatened with extinction. The eastern hoolock gibbon
The eastern hoolock gibbon (''Hoolock leuconedys'') is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon. This species is found in east of the Chindwin River, such as the Mahamyaing Wildlife Sanctuary, a ...
is the least threatened, only being vulnerable to extinction. Five gibbon species are critically endangered, as are all species of orangutan and gorilla. The remaining species of gibbon, the bonobo, and all four species of chimpanzees are endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
. The chief threat to most of the endangered species is loss of tropical rainforest habitat, though some populations are further imperiled by hunting for bushmeat. The great apes of Africa are also facing threat from the Ebola virus
''Zaire ebolavirus'', more commonly known as Ebola virus (; EBOV), is one of six known species within the genus '' Ebolavirus''. Four of the six known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and o ...
. Currently considered to be the greatest threat to survival of African apes, Ebola infection is responsible for the death of at least one third of all gorillas and chimpanzees since 1990.
Name and terminology
"Ape", from Old English ''apa'', is a word of uncertain origin. The term has a history of rather imprecise usage—and of comedic or punning usage in the vernacular. Its earliest meaning was generally of any non-human anthropoid primate, as is still the case for its cognates in other Germanic languages.
Later, after the term " monkey" had been introduced into English, "ape" was specialized to refer to a tailless (therefore exceptionally human-like) primate. Thus, the term "ape" obtained two different meanings, as shown in the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' entry: it could be used as a synonym for "monkey" and it could denote the tailless human-like primate in particular.
Some, or recently all, hominoids are also called "apes", but the term is used broadly and has several different senses within both popular and scientific settings. "Ape" has been used as a synonym for "monkey" or for naming any primate with a human-like appearance, particularly those without a tail. Biologists have traditionally used the term "ape" to mean a member of the superfamily Hominoidea ''other than'' humans, but more recently to mean ''all'' members of Hominoidea. So "ape"—not to be confused with "great ape"—now becomes another word for hominoid ''including'' humans.[
The taxonomic term ''hominoid'' is derived from, and intended as encompassing, the '' hominids,'' the family of ]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. Both terms were introduced by Gray (1825). 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 ...
s'' is also due to Gray (1824), intended as including the human lineage (see also Hominidae#Terminology, Human taxonomy
Human taxonomy is the classification of the human species (systematic name ''Homo sapiens'', Latin: "wise man") within zoological taxonomy. The systematic genus, ''Homo'', is designed to include both anatomically modern humans and extinct vari ...
).
The distinction between apes and monkeys is complicated by the traditional paraphyly of monkeys: Apes emerged as a sister group of Old World Monkeys in the catarrhines
The parvorder Catarrhini , catarrhine monkeys, Old World anthropoids, or Old World monkeys, consisting of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old W ...
, which are a sister group of New World Monkeys. Therefore, cladistically
Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...
, apes, catarrhines and related contemporary extinct groups such as Parapithecidae
Parapithecidae is an extinct family of primates which lived in the Eocene and Oligocene periods in Egypt. Eocene fossils from Myanmar are sometimes included in the family in addition. They showed certain similarities in dentition to Condylarthra, ...
a are monkeys as well, for any consistent definition of "monkey". "Old World Monkey" may also legitimately be taken to be meant to include all the catarrhines, including apes and extinct species such as Aegyptopithecus
''Aegyptopithecus'' ("Egyptian ape", from Greek ''Αίγυπτος'' "Egypt" and ''πίθηκος'' "ape") is an early fossil catarrhine that predates the divergence between hominoids ( apes) and cercopithecids (Old World monkeys). It is kno ...
, in which case the apes, Cercopithecoidea and Aegyptopithecus emerged within the Old World Monkeys.
The primates called "apes" today became known to Europeans after the 18th century. As zoological knowledge developed, it became clear that taillessness occurred in a number of different and otherwise distantly related 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 appropriate s ...
. Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark
Sir Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark (5 June 1895 – 28 June 1971) was a British anatomist, surgeon, primatologist and palaeoanthropologist, today best remembered for his contribution to the study of human evolution. He was Dr Lee's Professor of ...
was one of those primatologists who developed the idea that there were trends in primate evolution and that the extant members of the order could be arranged in an ".. ascending series", leading from "monkeys" to "apes" to humans. Within this tradition "ape" came to refer to all members of the superfamily Hominoidea except humans. As such, this use of "apes" represented a paraphyletic grouping, meaning that, even though all species of apes were descended from a common ancestor, this grouping did ''not'' include all the descendant species, because humans were excluded from being among the apes.
Traditionally, the English-language vernacular name
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
"apes" does not include humans, but phylogenetically, humans (''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 relat ...
'') form part of the family Hominidae within Hominoidaea. Thus, there are at least three common, or traditional, uses of the term "ape": non-specialists may not distinguish between "monkeys" and "apes", that is, they may use the two terms interchangeably; or they may use "ape" for any tailless monkey or non-human hominoid; or they may use the term "ape" to just mean the non-human hominoids.
Modern taxonomy aims for the use of monophyletic groups for taxonomic classification;
Some literature may now use the common name "ape" to mean all members of the superfamily Hominoidea, including humans. For example, in his 2005 book, Benton wrote "The apes, Hominoidea, today include the gibbons and orang-utan ... the gorilla and chimpanzee ... and humans".[, p. 371] Modern biologists and primatologists refer to apes that are not human as "non-human" apes. Scientists broadly, other than paleoanthropologists, may use 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 ...
" to identify the human clade
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 t ...
, replacing the term " hominid". See terminology of primate names.
See below, History of hominoid taxonomy
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its siste ...
, for a discussion of changes in scientific classification and terminology regarding hominoids.
Evolution
Although the hominoid fossil record is still incomplete and fragmentary, there is now enough evidence to provide an outline of the evolutionary history of humans. Previously, the divergence between humans and other extant hominoids was thought to have occurred 15 to 20 million years ago, and several species of that time period, such as ''Ramapithecus
''Sivapithecus'' () (syn: ''Ramapithecus)'' is a genus of extinct apes. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.2 million years old in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills of the Ind ...
'', were once thought to be 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 ...
s and possible ancestors of humans. But, later fossil finds indicated that ''Ramapithecus'' was more closely related to the orangutan; and new biochemical evidence indicates that the last common ancestor of humans and non-hominins (that is, the chimpanzees) occurred between 5 and 10 million years ago, and probably nearer the lower end of that range (more recent); see Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor
The chimpanzee–human last common ancestor (CHLCA) is the last common ancestor shared by the extant ''Homo'' (human) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzee and bonobo) genera of Hominini. Due to complex hybrid speciation, it is not currently possible to give ...
(CHLCA).
Taxonomic classification and phylogeny
Genetic analysis combined with fossil evidence indicates that hominoids diverged from the Old World monkey
Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...
s about 25 million years ago (mya), near the Oligocene–Miocene boundary
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
. The gibbons split from the rest about 18 mya, and the hominid splits happened 14 mya (''Pongo''), 7 mya (''Gorilla''), and 3–5 mya (''Homo'' & ''Pan''). In 2015, a new genus and species were described, ''Pliobates cataloniae
''Pliobates cataloniae'' is a species of stem-ape that was found to be the sister taxon to gibbons and great apes like humans.
Its anatomy is gibbon-like; prior to this discovery, it was assumed that the ancestral ape bauplan
A body plan, ( ...
'', which lived 11.6 mya, and appears to predate the split between Hominidae and Hylobatidae.
The families, and extant genera and species of hominoids are:
* Superfamily Hominoidea[
** Family Hominidae: hominids ("great apes")
*** Genus '' Pongo'': orangutans
**** Bornean orangutan, ''P. pygmaeus''
**** Sumatran orangutan, ''P. abelii''
**** ]Tapanuli orangutan
The Tapanuli orangutan (''Pongo tapanuliensis'') is a species of orangutan restricted to South Tapanuli in the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It is one of three known species of orangutan, alongside the Sumatran orangutan (''P. abelii''), fou ...
, ''P. tapanuliensis''
*** Genus ''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 or fi ...
'': gorillas
**** 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, '' ...
, ''G. gorilla''
**** Eastern gorilla
The eastern gorilla (''Gorilla beringei'') is a critically endangered species of the genus ''Gorilla'' and the largest living primate. At present, the species is subdivided into two subspecies. There are 3,800 eastern lowland gorillas or Graue ...
, ''G. beringei''
*** Genus ''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 relat ...
'': humans
**** Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
, ''H. sapiens''
*** Genus '' Pan'': chimpanzees
**** Chimpanzee, ''P. troglodytes''
**** Bonobo, ''P. paniscus''
** Family Hylobatidae: gibbons ("lesser apes")
*** Genus '' Hylobates''
**** Lar gibbon
The lar gibbon (''Hylobates lar''), also known as the white-handed gibbon, is an endangered primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of the better-known gibbons and is often kept in captivity.
Taxonomy
There are five subspecies of ...
or white-handed gibbon, ''H. lar''
**** Bornean white-bearded gibbon
The Bornean white-bearded gibbon (''Hylobates albibarbis''), also known as the Bornean agile gibbon or southern gibbon, is a species of gibbon endemic to southern Borneo. It is an endangered species, due to the undergoing logging of the tropical ...
, ''H. albibarbis''
**** Agile gibbon or black-handed gibbon, ''H. agilis''
**** Western grey gibbon or Abbott's grey gibbon, ''H. abbotti''
**** Eastern grey gibbon
The eastern grey gibbon or northern grey gibbon (''Hylobates funereus'') is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae.
Taxonomy
Formerly, the eastern grey gibbon and western grey gibbon (''H. abbotti'') were considered conspecific with the ...
or northern grey gibbon, ''H. funereus''
**** Müller's gibbon or southern grey gibbon, ''H. muelleri''
**** Silvery gibbon
The silvery gibbon (''Hylobates moloch''), also known as the Javan gibbon, is a primate in the gibbon family Hylobatidae. It is endemic to the Indonesian island of Java, where it inhabits undisturbed rainforests up to an altitude of . It is liste ...
, ''H. moloch''
**** Pileated gibbon
The pileated gibbon (''Hylobates pileatus'') is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae.
The pileated gibbon has sexual dimorphism in fur coloration: males have a purely black fur, while the females have a white-grey colored fur with only th ...
or capped gibbon, ''H. pileatus''
**** Kloss's gibbon
Kloss's gibbon (''Hylobates klossii''), also known as the Mentawai gibbon, the bilou or dwarf siamang, is an endangered primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is identifiable in that it is all black, resembling the siamang with its black ...
or Mentawai gibbon or bilou, ''H. klossii''
*** Genus ''Hoolock
The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus ''Hoolock'' in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China.
Description
Hoolocks are the second-largest of the gibbons, after ...
''
**** Western hoolock gibbon
The western hoolock gibbon (''Hoolock hoolock'') is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. The species is found in Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar west of the Chindwin River.
Classification
Mootnick an ...
, ''H. hoolock''
**** Eastern hoolock gibbon
The eastern hoolock gibbon (''Hoolock leuconedys'') is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon. This species is found in east of the Chindwin River, such as the Mahamyaing Wildlife Sanctuary, a ...
, ''H. leuconedys''
**** Skywalker hoolock gibbon
The Skywalker hoolock gibbon or Gaoligong hoolock gibbon (''Hoolock tianxing'') is an arboreal primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon and was first described in January 2017 in the ''American Jour ...
, ''H. tianxing''
*** Genus ''Symphalangus
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...
''
**** Siamang
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...
, ''S. syndactylus''
*** Genus ''Nomascus
''Nomascus'' is the second-most speciose genus of gibbons (family Hylobatidae). Originally, this genus was a subgenus of ''Hylobates'', and all individuals were considered one species, ''Hylobates concolor''. Species within ''Nomascus'' are char ...
''
**** Northern buffed-cheeked gibbon, ''N. annamensis''
**** Black crested gibbon
The black crested gibbon (''Nomascus concolor'') is a Critically Endangered species of gibbon found in China, Laos, and northern Vietnam, with four subspecies.
Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the species is confused. Previously grouped in the ...
, ''N. concolor''
**** Eastern black crested gibbon
The eastern black-crested gibbon (''Nomascus nasutus''), also known as the Cao-vit black crested gibbon or the Cao-vit crested gibbon, is a species of gibbon from southeast China and northern Vietnam. The term "Cao-vit" originated from the sounds ...
, ''N. nasutus''
**** Hainan black crested gibbon
The Hainan black-crested gibbon or Hainan gibbon (''Nomascus hainanus''), is a Critically Endangered species of gibbon found only on Hainan Island, China. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the eastern black crested gibbon (''Nomascus na ...
, ''N. hainanus''
**** Southern white-cheeked gibbon
The southern white-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus siki'') is a species of gibbon native to Vietnam and Laos. It is closely related to the northern white-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus leucogenys'') and the yellow-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus gabriellae'') ...
''N. siki''
**** White-cheeked crested gibbon, ''N. leucogenys''
**** Yellow-cheeked gibbon
The yellow-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus gabriellae''), also called the golden-cheeked gibbon, the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon, the golden-cheeked crested gibbon, the red-cheeked gibbon, or the buffed-cheeked gibbon, is a species of gibbon native ...
, ''N. gabriellae''
History of hominoid taxonomy
The history of hominoid taxonomy is complex and somewhat confusing. Recent evidence has changed our understanding of the relationships between the hominoids, especially regarding the human lineage; and the traditionally used terms have become somewhat confused. Competing approaches to methodology and terminology are found among current scientific sources. Over time, authorities have changed the names and the meanings of names of groups and subgroups as new evidence — that is, new discoveries of fossils and tools and of observations in the field, plus continual comparisons of anatomy and DNA sequences
A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are us ...
— has changed the understanding of relationships between hominoids. There has been a gradual demotion of humans from being 'special' in the taxonomy to being one branch among many. This recent turmoil (of history) illustrates the growing influence on all taxonomy of cladistics
Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived cha ...
, the science of classifying living things strictly according to their lines of descent.
Today, there are eight extant genera of hominoids. They are the four genera in the family Hominidae, namely ''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 relat ...
'', '' Pan'', ''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 or fi ...
'', and '' Pongo''; plus four genera in the family Hylobatidae (gibbons): '' Hylobates'', ''Hoolock
The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus ''Hoolock'' in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China.
Description
Hoolocks are the second-largest of the gibbons, after ...
'', ''Nomascus
''Nomascus'' is the second-most speciose genus of gibbons (family Hylobatidae). Originally, this genus was a subgenus of ''Hylobates'', and all individuals were considered one species, ''Hylobates concolor''. Species within ''Nomascus'' are char ...
'' and ''Symphalangus
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...
''. (The two subspecies of hoolock gibbons
The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus ''Hoolock'' in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China.
Description
Hoolocks are the second-largest of the gibbons, after ...
were recently moved from the genus ''Bunopithecus
''Bunopithecus'' is an extinct genus of primate represented by one species, ''Bunopithecus sericus'', a gibbon or gibbon-like ape. Its remains were first discovered in Sichuan, China, in strata from the Middle Pleistocene.
Although the three hoo ...
'' to the new genus ''Hoolock'' and re-ranked as species; a third species was described in January 2017).)
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...
, relying on second- or third-hand accounts, placed a second species in ''Homo'' along with ''H. sapiens'': ''Homo troglodytes'' ("cave-dwelling man"). Although the term "Orang Outang" is listed as a variety – ''Homo sylvestris'' – under this species, it is nevertheless not clear to which animal this name refers, as Linnaeus had no specimen to refer to, hence no precise description. Linnaeus may have based ''Homo troglodytes'' on reports of mythical creatures, then-unidentified simians, or Asian natives dressed in animal skins. Linnaeus named the orangutan ''Simia satyrus'' ("satyr monkey"). He placed the three genera ''Homo'', ''Simia
In his '' Systema Naturae'' of 1758, Carl Linnaeus divided the Order Primates within ''Mammalia'' into four genera: ''Homo'', ''Simia'', ''Lemur'', and ''Vespertilio''. His ''Vespertilio'' included all bats, and has since been moved from Primates ...
'' and ''Lemur'' in the order of Primates.
The ''troglodytes'' name was used for the chimpanzee by Blumenbach
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist. He is considered to be a main founder of zoology and anthropology as comparative, scientific disciplines. He wa ...
in 1775, but moved to the genus ''Simia''. The orangutan was moved to the genus '' Pongo'' in 1799 by Lacépède.
Linnaeus's inclusion of humans in the primates with monkeys and apes was troubling for people who denied a close relationship between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. Linnaeus's Lutheran archbishop had accused him of "impiety". In a letter to Johann Georg Gmelin
Johann Georg Gmelin (8 August 1709 – 20 May 1755) was a German naturalist, botanist and geographer.
Early life and education
Gmelin was born in Tübingen, the son of a professor at the University of Tübingen. He was a gifted child and began ...
dated 25 February 1747, Linnaeus wrote:
Accordingly, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist. He is considered to be a main founder of zoology and anthropology as comparative, scientific disciplines. He ...
in the first edition of his ''Manual of Natural History'' (1779), proposed that the primates be divided into the Quadrumana
Quadrumana is an outdated taxonomic division within the primates. The division of "Quadrumana" from "Bimana" was an attempt at distinguishing ''Homo sapiens'' from the rest of the great apes. For a century, modern science has considered humans as p ...
(four-handed, i.e. apes and monkeys) and Bimana (two-handed, i.e. humans). This distinction was taken up by other naturalists, most notably Georges Cuvier. Some elevated the distinction to the level of order.
However, the many affinities between humans and other primates – and especially the "great apes" – made it clear that the distinction made no scientific sense. In his 1871 book '' The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex'', Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
wrote:
Changes in taxonomy and terminology
Characteristics
The lesser apes are the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, of sixteen species; all are native to Asia. Their major differentiating characteristic is their long arms, which they use to brachiate
Brachiation (from "brachium", Latin for "arm"), or arm swinging, is a form of arboreal locomotion in which primates swing from tree limb to tree limb using only their arms. During brachiation, the body is alternately supported under each forelimb. ...
through trees. Their wrists are ball and socket joints as an evolutionary adaptation to their arboreal
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...
lifestyle. Generally smaller than the African apes, the largest gibbon, the siamang
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...
, weighs up to ; in comparison, the smallest "great ape", the bonobo, is .
The superfamily Hominoidea falls within the parvorder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...
Catarrhini
The parvorder Catarrhini , catarrhine monkeys, Old World anthropoids, or Old World monkeys, consisting of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old ...
, which also includes the Old World monkeys of Africa and Eurasia. Within this grouping, the two families Hylobatidae and Hominidae can be distinguished from Old World monkeys by the number of cusps on their molars
The molars or molar teeth are large, flat teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammals. They are used primarily to grind food during chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ''molaris dens'', meaning "millstone to ...
; hominoids have five in the "Y-5" molar pattern, whereas Old World monkeys have only four in a bilophodont
The molars or molar teeth are large, flat tooth, teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammal, mammals. They are used primarily to comminution, grind food during mastication, chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ...
pattern.
Further, in comparison with Old World monkeys, hominoids are noted for: more mobile shoulder joints and arms due to the dorsal position of the scapula
The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on eith ...
; broader ribcages that are flatter front-to-back; and a shorter, less mobile spine, with greatly reduced caudal (tail) vertebrae—resulting in complete loss of the tail in extant hominoid species. These are anatomical adaptations, first, to vertical hanging and swinging locomotion ( brachiation) and, later, to developing balance in a bipedal
Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...
pose. Note there are primates in other families that also lack tails, and at least one, the pig-tailed langur
The pig-tailed langur (''Simias concolor''), monotypic in genus ''Simias'', is a large Old World monkey, endemic to several small islands off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Its face is black, its fur is black-brown and it has a relatively sho ...
, is known to walk significant distances bipedally. The front of the ape skull is characterised by its sinuses, fusion of the frontal bone, and by post-orbital constriction
In physical anthropology, post-orbital constriction is the narrowing of the cranium (skull) just behind the eye sockets (the orbits, hence the name) found in most non-human primates and early hominins. This constriction is very noticeable in non-hu ...
.
Distinction from monkeys
Cladistically
Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...
, apes, catarrhines, and extinct species such as Aegyptopithecus
''Aegyptopithecus'' ("Egyptian ape", from Greek ''Αίγυπτος'' "Egypt" and ''πίθηκος'' "ape") is an early fossil catarrhine that predates the divergence between hominoids ( apes) and cercopithecids (Old World monkeys). It is kno ...
and Parapithecidae
Parapithecidae is an extinct family of primates which lived in the Eocene and Oligocene periods in Egypt. Eocene fossils from Myanmar are sometimes included in the family in addition. They showed certain similarities in dentition to Condylarthra, ...
a, are monkeys, so one can only specify ape features not present in other monkeys.
Unlike most monkeys, apes do not possess a tail. Monkeys are more likely to be in trees and use their tails for balance. While the great apes are considerably larger than monkeys, gibbons (lesser apes) are smaller than some monkeys. Apes are considered to be more intelligent than monkeys, which are considered to have more primitive brains.
Behaviour
Major studies of behaviour in the field were completed on the three better-known "great apes", for example by Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best kn ...
, Dian Fossey
Dian Fossey (, January 16, 1932 – ) was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from 1966 until her murder in 1985. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of R ...
and Birute Galdikas. These studies have shown that in their natural environments, the non-human hominoids show sharply varying social structure: gibbons are monogamous, territorial pair-bonders, orangutans are solitary, gorillas live in small troops with a single adult male leader, while chimpanzees live in larger troops with bonobos exhibiting promiscuous sexual behaviour. Their diets also vary; gorillas are foliovore
In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...
s, while the others are all primarily frugivores, although the common chimpanzee hunts for meat. Foraging behaviour is correspondingly variable.
Diet
Apart from humans and gorillas, apes eat a predominantly frugivorous
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...
diet, mostly fruit, but supplemented with a variety of other foods. Gorillas are predominately folivorous
In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...
, eating mostly stalks, shoots, roots and leaves with some fruit and other foods. Non-human apes usually eat a small amount of raw animal foods such as insects or eggs. In the case of humans, migration and the invention of hunting tools and cooking has led to an even wider variety of foods and diets, with many human diets including large amounts of cooked tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
s (root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
s) or legumes. Other food production and processing methods including animal husbandry and industrial refining and processing have further changed human diets. Humans and other apes occasionally eat other primates. Some of these primates are now close to extinction with habitat loss being the underlying cause.
Cognition
All the non-human hominoids are generally thought of as highly intelligent, and scientific study has broadly confirmed that they perform very well on a wide range of cognitive tests—though there is relatively little data on gibbon cognition. The early studies by Wolfgang Köhler
Wolfgang Köhler (21 January 1887 – 11 June 1967) was a German psychologist and phenomenologist who, like Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka, contributed to the creation of Gestalt psychology.
During the Nazi regime in Germany, he prote ...
demonstrated exceptional problem-solving
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
abilities in chimpanzees, which Köhler attributed to insight
Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings:
*a piece of information
*the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...
. The use of tools has been repeatedly demonstrated; more recently, the manufacture of tools has been documented, both in the wild and in laboratory tests. Imitation
Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our culture. ...
is much more easily demonstrated in "great apes" than in other primate species. Almost all the studies in animal language acquisition
Animal languages are forms of non-human animal communication that show similarities to human language. Animals communicate through a variety of signs, such as sounds or movements. Signing among animals may be considered complex enough to be a form ...
have been done with "great apes", and though there is continuing dispute as to whether they demonstrate real language abilities, there is no doubt that they involve significant feats of learning. Chimpanzees in different parts of Africa have developed tools that are used in food acquisition, demonstrating a form of animal culture
Animal culture can be defined as the ability of non-human animals to learn and transmit behaviors through processes of social or cultural learning.
Culture is increasingly seen as a process, involving the social transmittance of behavior among p ...
.
See also
* ''Dawn of Humanity'' (2015 PBS film)
* World Declaration on Great Apes from 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 ...
* International Primate Day
* List of individual apes
This is a list of non-human apes of encyclopedic interest. It includes individual chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, and gibbons that are in some way famous or notable.
Actors
* Bam Bam, an orangutan, played Precious on the soap opera ...
(for notable non-fictional non-human apes)
* List of fictional primates
This list of fictional primates is a subsidiary to the list of fictional animals. The list is restricted to notable non-human primate characters from the world of fiction including chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, gibbons, monkeys, lemu ...
* List of primates by population
Notes
References
Literature cited
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External links
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* Agreement between cladograms based on molecular and anatomical data.
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
Extant Chattian first appearances
Taxa named by John Edward Gray