Pongidae , or the pongids is an obsolete primate taxon containing chimpanzees,

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

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. By this definition pongids were also called "great

ape 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 sister g ...

s". This taxon is not used today but is of historical significance. The great apes are currently classified as Hominidae. This entry addresses the old usage of pongid. The words "Pongidae" and "pongids" are sometimes used informally for the

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 including ...

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 ...

containing

s and their extinct fossil relations. For this usage the currently most widely accepted name is

Ponginae Ponginae , also known as the Asian hominids, is a subfamily in the family Hominidae. Once a diverse lineage of Eurasian apes, the subfamily has only one extant genus, '' Pongo'' (orangutans), which contains three extant species; the Sumatran oran ...

(or informally Asian hominids or pongines), the orangutan subfamily of the Hominidae or hominids. In current hominid taxonomy there is no “pongid” taxon. The orangutan taxon is now known to be paraphyletic to other (African) hominids. The orangutans are the only surviving species of the subfamily

, which genetically diverged from the other hominids (

s, chimpanzees 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) between 19.3 and 15.7 million years ago. The subfamilies split somewhat later. The corresponding crown group for this taxon is Hominidae.

Distinction of great apes (formerly pongids) to hominins

Skull

The great ape (formerly pongid) skull contains the following features that are absent or less pronounced in humans: * a sulcus behind the brow ridges * prognathism * a protruding

occipital The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobes of the cereb ...

region * large, bony eye sockets * a large nasal opening * constriction just behind the orbital region * stout facial bones * a

diastema A diastema (plural diastemata, from Greek διάστημα, space) is a space or gap between two teeth. Many species of mammals have diastemata as a normal feature, most commonly between the incisors and molars. More colloquially, the condition ...

* a

simian shelf The simian shelf is a bony thickening on the front of the ape mandible. Its function is to reinforce the jaw, though it also has the effect of considerably reducing the movement of the tongue by restricting the area available for muscles. Humans a ...

* a more larger, well pronounced

brow ridge The brow ridge, or supraorbital ridge known as superciliary arch in medicine, is a bony ridge located above the eye sockets of all primates. In humans, the eyebrows are located on their lower margin. Structure The brow ridge is a nodule or crest ...

Adaptations for locomotion

The following great ape (formerly Pongid) adaptations are for arboreal and knuckle walking locomotion and are not found in humans: !! Human , - , Arms are longer than the legs , , Arms are shorter than the legs , - ,

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 ...

has an orientation for supporting the body weight beneath the arms , , Scapula is oriented for holding the arms by the side , - , Digits are long and curved for grasping branches , , Digits are shorter and straight , - , Pelvis is shaped to support the legs and trunk in the bent-over posture , , Pelvis is shaped to support the legs and trunk in a vertical position , - , Knees do not lock the legs , , Knees lock the legs straight to minimize the expenditure of energy when standing , - , Pelvis is relatively large , , Pelvis is much shorter and bowl-shaped , - , Iliac pillar is elongated , , The iliac crest is oriented more to the side and slanted

Similarity to hominins

The australopithecines show intermediate character states between great apes (formerly pongids) and humans, with '' Homo erectus'' (formerly ''

Pithecanthropus The terms ''Anthropopithecus'' ( Blainville, 1839) and ''Pithecanthropus'' (Haeckel, 1868) are obsolete taxa describing either chimpanzees or archaic humans. Both are derived from Greek ἄνθρωπος (anthropos, "man") and πίθηκος (p ...

'') intermediate between australopithecines and humans. Members of the 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 ...

'' share many key features with anatomically modern man.

References

Science and faith: The hominid fossil record

External links