Article
Article
Fossil apes
Article By:
Harrison, Terry Department of Anthropology, Paleoanthropology Laboratory, New York University, New York, New York.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757507
Fossil members of the group of primates constituting the apes. Apes and humans are closely related primates in the superfamily Hominoidea. The living hominoids are subdivided into the families Hylobatidae and Hominidae. The hylobatids, or lesser apes (genus Hylobates), are represented by approximately nine species found throughout Southeast Asia. Humans and the great apes—the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), and the pygmy chimpanzee or bonobo (Pan paniscus)—are grouped in the Hominidae. In the past, the great apes were included in a separate family, the Pongidae, but subsequent anatomical and molecular studies showed that the African apes (Gorilla and Pan) are more closely related to humans than they are to the Asian orangutan. See also: Apes; Fossil humans; Fossil primates; Mammalia; Monkey; Primates
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
