Hominidae

Further information: Hominid

The hominids are members of the biological family Hominidae (the great apes). This family includes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.^[2] "Great ape" is a common name rather than a taxonomic label, and people use it in different ways. Sometimes people mean to include humans in the category of “great apes,” and sometimes they mean non-human apes. Homo sapiens is definitely a hominid, as judged by all modern reference works.

Hominidae Temporal range: Miocene[1] to Recent
The eight living Hominidae species
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Superfamily:	Hominoidea
Family:	Hominidae
Range of great ape species

A fossil hominid exhibit at the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City

Hominids range in weight from 48 kg to 270 kg. Males are larger than females. Hominids are primates with no tails, strong 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 family Hominidae includes four genera and eight species. However, if fossil hominids were included, all of the Australopithecines and the genus Homo would be members of the Hominidae family. Today, nonhuman great apes live only in the rainforests of equatorial Africa, Sumatra and Borneo.

The first hominid fossils are from the Miocene period. Archaeologists found these in Asia^[3] and Europe. Also in Asia, they found fossils of a huge version of the orangutan called Gigantopithecus, which is now extinct. Fossils also show that Neanderthals were in Europe and western Asia for at least half a million years before modern humans appeared.

Classification

Scholars do not agree on exactly how to classify the family Hominidae.

Past versions

In the past, the family Hominidae have been classified this way:

• Family Hominidae: Great apes
  • Subfamily Ponginae
    • Genus Pongo – orangutans
  • Subfamily Homininae
    • Genus Gorilla – gorillas
    • Genus Pan – chimpanzees
    • Australopithecus† and other extinct relatives
    • Genus Homo – humans

Modern version

A more recent classification shows humans and the Australopithecines as distinct from the rainforest apes. Two major reference works have supported this approach.^[4][5]

Superfamily Hominoidea

Family Hylobatidae

Genus Hylobates

Family Hominidae

Subfamily Ponginae

Genus Pongo

Subfamily Gorillinae

Genus Gorilla

Subfamily Homininae

Tribe Panini

Genus Pan

Tribe Hominini

Subtribe Australopithecina/Hominina

Genus Ardipithecus

Genus Australopithecus

Genus Kenyanthropus

Genus Sahelanthropus

Genus Orrorin

Genus Paranthropus

Genus Homo

Related pages

• Human timeline
• Human evolution