Ape

Hominoidea
Temporal range: late Oligocene – Recent
Chimpanzees, an example of a great ape
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Gray, 1825
Families

Hylobatidae
Hominidae
†Proconsulidae
†Dryopithecidae
†Oreopithecidae

Range of ape species

Apes are simians belonging to the primate family Hominoidea. Its members are called hominoids. They are native to West Africa, Central Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Its living members are divided into two families:

In everyday use, "ape" often refers only to hominoids that are not humans.

One clear difference between monkeys and apes is that monkeys have tails (regardless of size), and apes do not have tails. There are even differences in their height, size, strength, teeth and the way they move their arms. They have a wide degree of freedom at the shoulder joint, which helps them swing by their arms in the trees (brachiation).

The diets of apes are similar to those of other primates. They eat fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves and sometimes meat. They are generally omnivores, though most of their intake is primarily herbivorous.

Evolutionary tree of the superfamily Hominoidea. It highlights the subfamily Homininae. First the gibbons (Hylobatidae) split from the main line some 18 million years ago. Next, the subfamily Ponginae broke away—leading to the current orangutan. Later the Homininae split into the tribe Hominini (with subtribes Hominina and Panina), and the tribe Gorillini

References

  1. ↑ Groves, Colin; Wilson D.E. and Reeder D.M. (eds) 2005. Mammal species of the world. 3rd ed, Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 178-184. ISBN 0-801-88221-4 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Goodman M.; et al. (1990). "Primate evolution at the DNA level and a classification of hominoids". Journal of Molecular Evolution. 30 (3): 260–266. Bibcode:1990JMolE..30..260G. doi:10.1007/BF02099995. PMID 2109087. S2CID 2112935.
  3. ↑ Ewen, Ewen (13 October 2008). "Loving bonobos have a carnivorous dark side". newscientist. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Hoag, Hannah (2013). "Humans are becoming more carnivorous". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2013.14282. S2CID 183143537. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.

Other websites

Media related to Ape at Wikimedia Commons