Ape
Hominoids Apes | |
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Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelli) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Parvorder: | Catarrhini |
Superfamily: | Hominoidea Gray, 1825[1] |
Type species | |
Homo sapiens | |
Families | |
sister: Cercopithecoidea
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Apes (collectively Hominoidea
- The family bipedalon the ground. They have lighter bodies and smaller social groups than great apes.
- The family
Except for gorillas and humans, hominoids are agile climbers of trees. 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
Name and terminology
million years ago ) |
"Ape", from Old English apa, is a word of uncertain origin.[b] 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.[c][8] Later, after the term "monkey" had been introduced into English, "ape" was specialized to refer to a tailless (therefore exceptionally human-like) primate.[9] 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.[10]
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.[10] Biologists have traditionally used the term "ape" to mean a member of the superfamily Hominoidea other than humans,[4] 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.[6][d]
The taxonomic term hominoid is derived from, and intended as encompassing, the
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, which are a sister group of New World Monkeys. Therefore, cladistically, apes, catarrhines and related contemporary extinct groups such as Parapithecidae 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,[12][13][14][15][citation needed] 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. Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark 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.[4] 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.[e]
Traditionally, the English-language vernacular name "apes" does not include humans, but phylogenetically, humans (Homo) form part of the family Hominidae within Hominoidea. 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;[16][f]
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".
See below, History of hominoid taxonomy, 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
Taxonomic classification and phylogeny
Genetic analysis combined with fossil evidence indicates that hominoids diverged from the
Crown Catharrhini (31)
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Catarrhini (31.0 Mya) | |
The families, and extant genera and species of hominoids are:
- Superfamily Hominoidea[25]
- Family Hominidae: hominids ("great apes")
- Genus Pongo: orangutans
- Bornean orangutan, P. pygmaeus
- Sumatran orangutan, P. abelii
- Tapanuli orangutan, P. tapanuliensis[26]
- Genus Gorilla: gorillas
- Western gorilla, G. gorilla
- Eastern gorilla, G. beringei
- Genus Homo: humans
- Human, H. sapiens
- Genus Pan: chimpanzees
- Chimpanzee, P. troglodytes
- Bonobo, P. paniscus
- Genus Pongo: orangutans
- Family Hylobatidae: gibbons ("lesser apes")
- Genus Hylobates
- Lar gibbon or white-handed gibbon, H. lar
- Bornean white-bearded gibbon, H. albibarbis
- Agile gibbon or black-handed gibbon, H. agilis
- Western grey gibbon or Abbott's grey gibbon, H. abbotti[27]
- Eastern grey gibbon or northern grey gibbon, H. funereus[27]
- Müller's gibbon or southern grey gibbon, H. muelleri
- Silvery gibbon, H. moloch
- Pileated gibbon or capped gibbon, H. pileatus
- Kloss's gibbon or Mentawai gibbon or bilou, H. klossii
- Genus Hoolock
- Western hoolock gibbon, H. hoolock
- Eastern hoolock gibbon, H. leuconedys
- Skywalker hoolock gibbon, H. tianxing
- Genus Symphalangus
- Siamang, S. syndactylus
- Genus Nomascus
- Northern buffed-cheeked gibbon, N. annamensis
- Black crested gibbon, N. concolor
- Eastern black crested gibbon, N. nasutus
- Hainan black crested gibbon, N. hainanus
- Southern white-cheeked gibbon N. siki
- White-cheeked crested gibbon, N. leucogenys
- Yellow-cheeked gibbon, N. gabriellae
- Genus Hylobates
- Family Hominidae: hominids ("great apes")
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
Today, there are eight extant
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus, 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.[29] Linnaeus named the orangutan Simia satyrus ("satyr monkey"). He placed the three genera Homo, Simia and Lemur in the order of Primates.
The troglodytes name was used for the chimpanzee by
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 dated 25 February 1747, Linnaeus wrote:
It is not pleasing to me that I must place humans among the primates, but man is intimately familiar with himself. Let's not quibble over words. It will be the same to me whatever name is applied. But I desperately seek from you and from the whole world a general difference between men and simians from the principles of Natural History. I certainly know of none. If only someone might tell me one! If I called man a simian or vice versa I would bring together all the theologians against me. Perhaps I ought to, in accordance with the law of Natural History.[30]
Accordingly,
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 wrote:
The greater number of naturalists who have taken into consideration the whole structure of man, including his mental faculties, have followed Blumenbach and Cuvier, and have placed man in a separate Order, under the title of the Bimana, and therefore on an equality with the orders of the Quadrumana, Carnivora, etc. Recently many of our best naturalists have recurred to the view first propounded by Linnaeus, so remarkable for his sagacity, and have placed man in the same Order with the Quadrumana, under the title of the Primates. The justice of this conclusion will be admitted: for in the first place, we must bear in mind the comparative insignificance for classification of the great development of the brain in man, and that the strongly marked differences between the skulls of man and the Quadrumana (lately insisted upon by
Bischoff, Aeby, and others) apparently follow from their differently developed brains. In the second place, we must remember that nearly all the other and more important differences between man and the Quadrumana are manifestly adaptive in their nature, and relate chiefly to the erect position of man; such as the structure of his hand, foot, and pelvis, the curvature of his spine, and the position of his head.[31]
Changes in taxonomy and terminology
Humans the non-apes: Until about 1960, taxonomists typically divided the superfamily Hominoidea into two families. The science community treated humans and their extinct relatives as the outgroup within the superfamily; that is, humans were considered as quite distant from kinship with the "apes". Humans were classified as the family Hominidae and were known as the "hominids". All other hominoids were known as "apes" and were referred to the family Pongidae.[32] | |
The "great apes" in Pongidae: The 1960s saw the methodologies of molecular biology applied to primate taxonomy. Goodman's 1964 immunological study of serum proteins led to re-classifying the hominoids into three families: the humans in Hominidae; the great apes in Pongidae; and the "lesser apes" (gibbons) in Hylobatidae.[33] However, this arrangement had two trichotomies: Pan, Gorilla, and Pongo of the "great apes" in Pongidae, and Hominidae, Pongidae, and Hylobatidae in Hominoidea. These presented a puzzle; scientists wanted to know which genus speciated first from the common hominoid ancestor. | |
Gibbons the outgroup: New studies indicated that gibbons, not humans, are the outgroup within the superfamily Hominoidea, meaning: the rest of the hominoids are more closely related to each other than (any of them) are to the gibbons. With this splitting, the gibbons (Hylobates, et al.) were isolated after moving the great apes into the same family as humans. Now the term "hominid" encompassed a larger collective taxa within the family Hominidae. With the family trichotomy settled, scientists could now work to learn which genus is 'least' related to the others in the subfamily Ponginae. | |
Orangutans the outgroup: Investigations comparing humans and the three other hominid genera disclosed that the African apes (chimpanzees and gorillas) and humans are more closely related to each other than any of them are to the Asian orangutans (Pongo); that is, the orangutans, not humans, are the outgroup within the family Hominidae. This led to reassigning the African apes to the subfamily Homininae with humans—which presented a new three-way split: Homo, Pan, and Gorilla.[34] | |
Hominins: In an effort to resolve the trichotomy, while preserving the nostalgic "outgroup" status of humans, the subfamily Homininae was divided into two tribes: Gorillini, comprising genus Pan and genus Gorilla; and Hominini, comprising genus Homo (the humans). Humans and close relatives now began to be known as "hominins", that is, of the tribe Hominini. Thus, the term "hominin" succeeded to the previous use of "hominid", which meaning had changed with changes in Hominidae (see above: 3rd graphic, "Gibbons the outgroup"). | |
Gorillas the outgroup: New DNA comparisons now provided evidence that gorillas, not humans, are the outgroup in the subfamily Homininae; this suggested that chimpanzees should be grouped with humans in the tribe Hominini, but in separate subtribes.[35] Now the name "hominin" delineated Homo plus those earliest Homo relatives and ancestors that arose after the divergence from the chimpanzees. (Humans are no longer recognized as an outgroup, but are a branch, deep in the tree of the pre-1960s ape group).
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Speciation of gibbons: Later DNA comparisons disclosed previously unknown speciation of genus Hylobates (gibbons) into four genera: Symphalangus.[25][28] The ordering of speciation of these four genera are being investigated as of 2022[update] .
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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
The superfamily Hominoidea falls within the
Further, in comparison with Old World monkeys, hominoids are noted for: more mobile shoulder joints and arms due to the dorsal position of the
Distinction from monkeys
Cladistically, apes, catarrhines, and extinct species such as Aegyptopithecus and Parapithecidaea, are monkeys,[citation needed] 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.[36]
The enzyme urate oxidase has become inactive in all apes, its function having been lost in two primate lineages during the middle Miocene; first in the common ancestors of Hominidae, and later in the common ancestor of Hylobatidae. It has been hypothesized that in both incidents it was a mutation that occurred in apes living in Europe when the climate was getting colder, leading to starvation during winter. The mutation changed the biochemistry of the apes and made it easier to accumulate fat, which allowed the animals to survive longer periods of starvation. When they migrated to Asia and Africa, this genetic trait remained.[37][38]
Behaviour
Major studies of behaviour in the field were completed on the three better-known "great apes", for example by
In November 2023, scientists reported, for the first time, evidence that groups of primates, including apes, and, particularly bonobos, are capable of cooperating with each other.[39][40]
Diet
Apart from humans and gorillas, apes eat a predominantly
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
See also
- Mammals portal
- Dawn of Humanity (2015 PBS film)
- International Primate Day
- List of individual apes (for notable non-fictional non-human apes)
- List of fictional primates
- List of primates by population
- World Declaration on Great Apes from the Great Ape Project
Notes
- ^ Although Dawkins is clear that he uses "apes" for Hominoidea, he also uses "great apes" in ways which exclude humans. Thus in Dawkins 2005: "Long before people thought in terms of evolution ... great apes were often confused with humans" (p. 114); "gibbons are faithfully monogamous, unlike the great apes which are our closer relatives" (p. 126).
- ^ The hypothetical Proto-Germanic form is given as *apōn (F. Kluge, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (2002), online version, s.v. "Affe"; V. Orel, A handbook of Germanic etymology (2003), s.v. "*apōn" or as *apa(n) (Online Etymology Dictionary (2001–2014), s.v. "ape"; M. Philippa, F. Debrabandere, A. Quak, T. Schoonheim & N. van der Sijs, Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands (2003–2009), s.v. "aap"). Perhaps ultimately derived from a non-Indo-European language, the word might be a direct borrowing from Celtic, or perhaps from Slavic, although in both cases it is also argued that the borrowing, if it took place, went in the opposite direction.
- ^ "Any simian known on the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages; monkey or ape"; cf. ape-ward: "a juggler who keeps a trained monkey for the amusement of the crowd." (Middle English Dictionary, s.v. "ape").
- ^ Dawkins 2005; for example "[a]ll apes except humans are hairy" (p. 99), "[a]mong the apes, gibbons are second only to humans" (p. 126).
- ^ Definitions of paraphyly vary; for the one used here see e.g. Stace 2010, pp. 106
- ^ Definitions of monophyly vary; for the one used here see e.g. Mishler 2009, pp. 114
References
- ^ Gray, J. E. "An outline of an attempt at the disposition of Mammalia into tribes and families, with a list of the genera apparently appertaining to each tribe". Annals of Philosophy. New Series. 10: 337–344. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- bioRxiv 10.1101/2021.09.14.460388.
- ^ Weisberger, Mindy (23 March 2024). "Why don't humans have tails? Scientists find answers in an unlikely place". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Dixson 1981, pp. 13.
- PMID 16865704.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-632-05637-8. Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2011., p. 371
- ^ Rush, J. (23 January 2015). "Ebola virus 'has killed a third of world's gorillas and chimpanzees' – and could pose greatest threat to their survival, conservationists warn". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ Terry 1977, pp. 3.
- ^ Terry 1977, pp. 3–4.
- ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 160.
- ^ Gray, JE. "An outline of an attempt at the disposition of Mammalia into tribes and families, with a list of the genera apparently appertaining to each tribe". Annals of Philosophy. New Series. 10: 337–344. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- OCLC 500576914.
- ^ Martin, W. C. L. (1841). A General Introduction to the Natural History of Mammiferous Animals, With a Particular View of the Physical History of man, and the More Closely Allied Genera of the Order Quadrumana, or Monkeys. London: Wright and Co. printers. pp. 340, 361.
- ^ Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, M. É. (1812). "Tableau des quadrumanes, ou des animaux composant le premier ordre de la classe des Mammifères". Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. 19. Paris: 85–122. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ISSN 1422-6405.
- ISBN 978-0-7637-5286-6.
Through careful study taxonomists today struggle to eliminate polyphyletic and paraphyletic groups and taxons, reclassifying their members into appropriate monophyletic taxa
- ^ "Fossils may pinpoint critical split between apes and monkeys". 15 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
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- ^ "A new primate species at the root of the tree of extant hominoids". 29 October 2015. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- S2CID 4397839. Archived from the original(PDF) on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ Dixson 1981, p. 16.
- ^ OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Cochrane, J. (2 November 2017). "New Orangutan Species Could Be the Most Endangered Great Ape". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ OCLC 1222638259.
- ^ S2CID 8394136.
- ISBN 978-0-7112-1841-3., p. 166
- ^ "Letter, Carl Linnaeus to Johann Georg Gmelin. Uppsala, Sweden, 25 February 1747". Swedish Linnaean Society. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-7607-7814-2.
- ^ G. G., Simpson (1945). "The principles of classification and a classification of mammals". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 85: 1–350.
- ^ Goodman, M. (1964). "Man's place in the phylogeny of the primates as reflected in serum proteins". In Washburn, S. L. (ed.). Classification and Human Evolution. Chicago: Aldine. pp. 204–234.
- .
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- ^ Call, J.; Tomasello, M. (2007). The Gestural Communication of Apes and Monkeys. Taylor & Francis Group/Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- PMID 22000645.
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- ^ Zimmer, Carl (16 November 2023). "Scientists Find First Evidence That Groups of Apes Cooperate - Some bonobos are challenging the notion that humans are the only primates capable of group-to-group alliances". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Lawton, G. (2 November 2016). "Every human culture includes cooking – this is how it began". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ Callaway, E. (13 October 2006). "Loving bonobos have a carnivorous dark side". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ M., Michael. "Chimpanzees over-hunt monkey prey almost to extinction". BBC Earth. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- Science Daily. Archivedfrom the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ McGrew, W. (1992). Chimpanzee Material Culture: Implications for Human Evolution.
Literature cited
- Dawkins, R. (2005). The Ancestor's Tale (p/b ed.). London: Phoenix (Orion Books). ISBN 978-0-7538-1996-8.
- Dixson, A. F. (1981). The Natural History of the Gorilla. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-77895-0.
- Mishler, Brent D (2009). "Species are not uniquely real biological entities". In Ayala, F. J. & Arp, R. (eds.). Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology. pp. 110–122. ISBN 978-1-4443-1492-2.
- Stace, C. A. (2010). "Classification by molecules: what's in it for field botanists?" (PDF). Watsonia. 28: 103–122. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- Terry, M. W. (1977). "Use of common and scientific nomenclature to designate laboratory primates". In Schrier, A. M. (ed.). Behavioral Primatology: Advances in Research and Theory. Vol. 1. Hillsdale, N.J., US: Lawrence Erlbaum.
External links
- Data related to Hominoidea at Wikispecies
- Hominoidea at Wikibooks
- PMID 10995486. Agreement between cladograms based on molecular and anatomical data.
- Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).