Humans & great apes (Hominidae)

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

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