Hominidae
| Hominids Temporal range: Miocene[1] to Recent |
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| 'Lucy', based on a female Australopithecus afarensis skeleton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorrhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Parvorder: | Catarrhini |
| Superfamily: | Hominoidea |
| Family: | Hominidae [2] |
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The hominids are members of the biological family Hominidae (the great apes), which includes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.[2] "Great ape" is a common name rather than a taxonomic label and there are differences in usage. Subtly, it may seem to exclude human beings ("humans and the great apes") or to include them ("humans and non-human great apes"). Homo sapiens is not at any especial remove from other members of the biological family, and humans are therefore described here as great apes.
Hominids range in weight from 48 kg to 270 kg. Males are larger than females. Hominids are primates with no tails, robust bodies and well-developed forearms. Their thumbs (and big toes, except in humans) oppose the fingers, and form a grip. All digits have flattened nails.
At present, the Hominidae includes four genera and five species. Its nonhuman members are restricted to rain forests in equatorial Africa, Sumatra and Borneo. However, if fossil hominids are included, then all the Australopithecines and the genus Homo are included. Hominid fossils date from the Miocene and are known from Asia.[3]
Living members [change]
- Family Hominidae: Great apes
- Subfamily Ponginae
- Genus Pongo - orangutans
- Subfamily Homininae
- Subfamily Ponginae
References [change]
- ↑ Begun, D. R., Nargolwalla, M. C. and Kordos, L. (2012). European Miocene Hominids and the Origin of the African Ape and Human Clade. 21. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.20329/full.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Groves C. 2005. Wilson D.E.; Reeder D.M. eds. Mammal species of the world. 3rd ed, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 181–184. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. [1]
- ↑ Hill, Andrew & Steven Ward 1988. Origin of the Hominidae: the record of African large hominoid evolution between 14 My and 4 My. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 31 (59): 49–83.[2]
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