Humans, Old World monkeys, etc. (Catarrhini): Humans & great apes (Hominidae)

The Hominidae (anglicized Hominids, also known as great apes, form a taxonomic family, including four extant genera: humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.

A number of known extinct genera are grouped with humans in the Hominina subtribe, others with orangutans in the Ponginae subtribe. The most recent common ancestor of the Hominidae lived some 13 million years ago, when the ancestors of the orangutans speciated from the ancestors of the other three genera. The ancestors of the Hominidae family in turn speciated from those of the Hylobatidae family some 15 million years ago.

Photo: Hominid skeletons

The Great Ape Trust

Great Ape Trust of Iowa, formerly known as Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary, is a world-class research center dedicated to providing sanctuary and an honorable life for great apes, studying the intelligence of great apes, advancing conservation of...

Jane Goodall: What separates us from the apes?

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Blog Posts

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Resources

Chimp Haven

Chimp Haven serves as The National Chimpanzee Sanctuary. We are an independent, nonprofit organization whose m...

The Leakey Foundation

The mission of the Leakey Foundation is to increase scientific knowledge, education, and public understanding ...

The Bonobo Conservation Initiiative

The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI) is a non-profit (USA: 501-c3) organization based in Washington, D.C. ...