Hominoid

The hominoids or hominoids (Hominoidea) are a superfamily of catarrhine tailless primates that includes humans and other closely related apes. Its current members are classified into two families: Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae, made up of the subfamilies Ponginae (which includes the genus Pongo, orangutans) and Homininae. The latter is made up of three tribes: Gorillini (genus Gorilla), Hominini (genus Pan and Homo) and the extinct tribe Dryopithecini.

Previously, the Hominoidea were divided into four families: Proconsulidae (the extinct proconsuls); the hylobatids (gibbons); pongids (orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo), and hominids (genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo). Advances in genetics and cladistics have made these divisions obsolete.

Other denominations

Great apes, excluding humans, used to be called anthropomorphs (from the Greek ανθρωπομορφος, anthropos, "man" and morphos, "shape", "in human form") or anthropoids (from the Greek ανθρωποιδης, anthropos, "man" and oides, "similar to"). There is nothing that justifies the formation of a group for the great apes and another for the human being, as can be seen in the cladogram proposed below.

Phylogeny and evolution

Cladistic systematics, which has been imposed among primatologists in recent years, has revealed the phylogenetic relationships of the different groups of hominoids as shown in the following simplified cladogram:

According to this new classification, gibbons are the most basal group and the rest form the Hominidae family, which is divided into two subfamilies, Ponginae (orangutans) and Homininae; the latter, in turn, is divided into the Gorillini (gorillas) and Hominini (chimpanzees, humans and their bipedal ancestors) tribes; and even a third already extinct tribe named Dryopithecini is added.

According to genetic analysis (molecular clock technique) the evolutionary separation of the superfamilies Hominoidea and Cercopithecoidea occurred between 29.2 and 34.5 million years ago, in the Rupelian (early Oligocene). But no fossils older than 25.2 million years have turned up to prove it; Specifically, the oldest known guemon is Nsungwepithecus and the oldest known hominoid is Rukwapithecus, both found in the Nsungwe Formation, in the western part of the Great Rift Valley, in Tanzania.

Distribution of currently living species

• 

  Human Rights

• 

  Chimpanzees and Bonus

• 

  Gorilas

• 

  Orangutans

• 

  Gibones

Classification

The hominoid superfamily includes several families and numerous genera, most of them extinct, evidence of a flourishing past.

• Basal genders

?Prohylobates †

?Morotopithecus †

• Family Dendropithecidae † (disputed position; sometimes treated in a separate superfamily, Dendropithecoidea)

Dendropithecus †

Simiolus †

Micropithecus †

• Family Proconsulidae † (disputed position; sometimes treated in a separate superfamily, Proconsuloid)

Subfamily Proconsulinae †

Proconsul †

Ugandapithecus †

Subfamily Afropithecinae †

Heliopithecus †

Nacholapithecus †

Equatorius †

Afropithecus †

Subfamily Nyanzapithecinae †

Nyanzapithecus †

Mabokopithecus †

Rangwapithecus †

Rukwapithecus †

Turkanapithecus †

• Hylobatidae family

Bunopithecus †

Hylobates

Hoolock

Symphalangus

Nomascus

• Family Hominidae

Subfamily Ponginae

Tribu Lufengpithecini †

Lufengpithecus †

Ankarapithecus †

Megathropus †

Tribu Sivapithecini †

Sivapithecus (chuckles)Ramapithecus†

Gigantopithecus †

Indopithecus †

Bodvapithecus †

Graecopithecus †

Tribu Pongini

Khoratpithecus †

Pongo

Subfamily Homininae

Tribu Dryopithecini †

Pierolapithecus †

Dryopithecus †

Anoiapithecus†

Rudapithecus†

Pierolapithecus†

Udabnopithecus†

Hispanopithecus†

Kenyapithecus†

Ouranopithecus†

Otavipithecus†

Oreopithecus†

Samburupithecus†

Danuvius†

Neopithecus†

Griphopithecus†

Rudapithecus †

Udabnopithecus †

Ouranopithecus †

Tribu Gorillini

Chororapithecus †

Nakalipithecus †

Gorilla

Tribu Hominini

Pan

Sahelanthropus †

Orrorin †

Ardipithecus †

Australopithecus †

Paranthropus †

Kenyanthropus †

Homo

History of hominoid taxonomy during the 20th century

Until about 1960, the hominoids were usually divided into two families: Hominidae (humans and their extinct biped relatives) and Pongidae (the rest: chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and gibones).
The 1960s saw the application of molecular biology techniques to primate taxonomy. Goodman used his immune studies in 1963 of serum proteins and proposed a division of the hominoids in three families, with the great apes in the Pongidae family and the smaller apes (gibones) in the Hylobatidae family. However, the tricotomy of the families of hominoids made scientists wonder which of the three families first separated from the common hominoid ancestor.
Within the Hominoid superfamily, the gymnasts are the external group: this means that the rest of the hominoids are more closely related to each other than to the Gibones. It allowed the great apes to be placed within the Hominidae family together with the humans, and leaving the pongidos as a subfamily; the Hominidae family now contains the Homininae and Ponginae subfamily. Once again, the three lineages in Ponginae allow scientists to respond which of the three genres is less related to others.
The research showed that orangutan is the external group. When comparing orangutans with the other three genres of hominids (chimpanzees, gorillas and humans) it is noted that the latter are more related to them than to orangutans. This discovery allowed us to place African apes in the Homininae subfamily, forming another division. This classification was first proposed by M. Goodman in 1974.
To try to solve the tricotomy of the hominos, some authors propose the division of the Homininae subfamily in the Gorillini (African) and Hominini (human) tribes.
However, DNA comparisons showed compelling evidence that within the Homininae subfamily, gorillas are the external group. This suggests that chimpanzees should be placed in the Hominini tribe together with humans. This classification was first proposed by Morris Goodman in 1990.
Subsequently, DNA comparisons led to the division of the Hylobatidae family in four genres: Hylobates, Hoolock, Nomascus and Symphalangus.