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Hominini

Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience

An orangutan in its natural habitat at a rehabilitation centre in Sumatra.

The Hominini (hominins) are a group of primates that includes modern humans and their closest living relatives. This group belongs to a larger family called Homininae, which also includes gorillas. Today, the Hominini consist of two genera: Homo, which includes humans, and Pan, which includes chimpanzees and bonobos. Gorillas, while closely related, are classified separately.

The word Hominini was first used by a scientist named Camille Arambourg in 1948. He combined two older groups to create this new classification. Over time, scientists have learned more about how these animals are related through their genes. We now know that humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas share a more recent common ancestor with each other than with orangutans.

Orangutans used to be grouped with chimpanzees and gorillas, but they are now placed in a different family called Hominidae, which includes all the great apes. Gorillas are now considered their own tribe within Homininae. Even with all this research, some scientists still debate the exact groupings. Humans are the only living members of a group called Australopithecine.

Terminology and definition

Further information: Human taxonomy

The Hominini are a group that includes humans and chimpanzees. Scientists sometimes group them in different ways. One way is to put both humans and chimpanzees together in Hominini. Another way is to put only humans and their ancient relatives in Hominini, and keep chimpanzees in a different group. These different groupings help scientists study these animals better.

The word "hominin" usually refers to this group, but some scientists use it to mean only humans and their ancient relatives, not chimpanzees. This can be confusing, but it helps experts talk about certain parts of human and chimpanzee history.

Cladogram

A cladogram is a diagram that shows how different groups of animals are related through their ancestors. This cladogram focuses on the superfamily Hominoidea, which includes apes and humans. It shows the Hominini group, which has two main types: the Panina, which includes chimpanzees, and the Australopithecina, which includes early human relatives called australopithecines.

Genetic studies and fossils show that these ape-like ancestors split from Old World monkeys around 25 million years ago. The subfamily Homininae, which includes gorillas and the Hominini, shares a common ancestor that lived about 15 million years ago. One well-known early group from this time is Sivapithecus, which lived between 12.5 million and 8.5 million years ago and had different teeth and body structures compared to today’s orangutans.

cladogram shows the clade of superfamily Hominoidea and its descendant clades, focused on the division of Hominini. The family Hominidae ("hominids") includes the tribes Ponginae (including orangutans), Gorillini (including gorillas), and Hominini. The last two form the subfamily of Homininae. Hominini is divided into Panina (chimpanzees) and Australopithecina (australopithecines). The Hominina (humans) are thought to have emerged within the Australopithecina.

Genetic analysis with fossil evidence shows that hominoids diverged from the Old World monkeys about 25 million years ago, near the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The most recent common ancestors of the subfamilies Homininae and Ponginae lived about 15 million years ago. The best-known fossil group of Ponginae is Sivapithecus, which lived from 12.5 million to 8.5 million years ago. It differs from orangutans in dentition and postcranial morphology. In the following cladogram, the approximate time the clades formed new groups is shown in millions of years ago.

Evolutionary history

Further information: Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor

Early humans and chimpanzees shared a common ancestor that lived millions of years ago. Scientists have found few fossils that show direct links to modern chimpanzees. The first fossil chimpanzee was discovered in Kenya in 2005.

Humans and chimpanzees share about 99% of their DNA. The earliest members of the human genus, Homo, likely evolved from a group called australopithecines. Some fossils, like Orrorin tugenensis, have led scientists to question this idea. Scientists study fossils to learn about our ancestors.

List of known hominin species

Here is a list of known hominin species, which are early relatives and ancestors of modern humans. Some of these species are still around today, like chimpanzees and us, humans!

Images

Scientific cast of an ancient human ancestor fossil, known as Toumaï, displayed in a museum for research and learning.
A scientific comparison of primate skeletons, including humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gibbons, to show their similarities and differences.
Scientific restoration of Teilhardina, an early primate from the Eocene epoch.
An artist's reconstruction of Eosimias sinensis, an early primate that lived millions of years ago during the Eocene epoch in what is now China.
An artistic reconstruction of Aegyptopithecus, an ancient primate species, shown in its natural habitat.
An artist's imaginative depiction of Gigantopithecus blackii, a giant ancient primate that lived millions of years ago.
Ham the Chimp, one of the first animals to travel into space, with his handler.
Fossil skull of Homo rudolfensis, an ancient human ancestor.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Hominini, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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