GorillaGorillas are large, primarily herbivorous, great apes that live in the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genusGorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 96 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the bonobos and chimpanzees.
HomoHomo (from Latin homō 'human') is a genus of great ape (family Hominidae) that emerged from the genus Australopithecus (subtribe Hominina), encompassing a single extant species, Homo sapiens (modern humans), along with a number of extinct species (e.g. Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis) classified as either ancestral or closely related to modern humans, collectively called archaic humans.
HomininiThe Hominini (hominins) form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamilyHomininae (hominines). They comprise two extant genera: Homo (humans) and Pan (chimpanzees and bonobos), and in standard usage exclude the 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 Gray's classifications (1825).
HumanSpecies of hominid in the genus HomoHumans (Homo sapiens, meaning 'thinking man' or 'wise man') are the most abundant and widespread species of primates, characterized by bipedalism, minimal body hair, and large, complex brains enabling the development of advanced technology, culture, and language.
BonoboSpecies of great apeThe bonobo (; Pan paniscus), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee (less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee), is the smallest species of great ape and one of the two making up the genusPan (the other being the common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes). While bonobos are today recognized as a distinct species, they were initially thought to be a subspecies of Pan troglodytes, because of the physical similarities between the two species.
ChimpanzeeSpecies of great apeThe chimpanzee (; Pan troglodytes), commonly abbreviated to chimp, is a medium-sized great ape species found in the forests and savannas of equatorial Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. The chimpanzee shares the genus Pan with the bonobo. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that the two species are humans' closest living relatives. The chimpanzee is bigger and more robust than the bonobo.
HominidaeThe Hominidae (; hominids), whose members are known as the great apes, 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.
Pan (genus)The genus Pan consists of two extant species: the bonobo and the chimpanzee. Taxonomically, these two ape species are collectively termed panins; however, both species are more commonly referred to collectively using the generalized term chimpanzees, or chimps. Together with humans, gorillas, and orangutans, they are part of the family Hominidae (the great apes, or hominids).
GorilliniGorillini is a taxonomic tribe containing three genera: Gorilla and the extinct Chororapithecus and (possibly) Nakalipithecus.
SubfamilyA subfamily (Latin: subfamilia, plural subfamiliae) is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, positioned below family and above genus. It is used to classify groups of related genera within a family, helping organize the diversity of life more precisely. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with the suffix "-oideae", whereas zoological subfamily names end with "-inae".
NeontologyNeontology is a part of biology that, in contrast to paleontology, studies and deals with living (or, more generally, recent) organisms. It is the study of extant taxa (singular: extant taxon): taxa (such as species, genera and families) with members still alive, as opposed to (all) being extinct.
ExtinctionTermination of a species' lineageThe thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is an example of a recently extinct species.Palaeotherium is an example of an extinct genus that is only recorded from fossil records before the existence of hominids.Extinction is the termination of a species via the death of its last member. A taxon may become functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to reproduce and recover.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.