Apes | Hominoidea
Apes or Hominoidea fall under the superfamily Hominoidea or Great Apes. They are endemic to Africa and Southeast Asia. A common feature in apes is the lack of tails. They are expert tree climbers other than humans and gorillas and consume both animal and plant materials. Humans are the most numerous and intelligent in this family. Apes have hair instead of fur, fingernails instead of claws, binocular vision, and a higher brain-to-body size ratio. They include chimpanzees, gibbons, orangutans, and gorillas. Most form social groupings except the orangutans. Apes have an upright body posture composed of a wide chest and broad pelvis.
Hominoids are a group of simians that include only humans and apes, while the anthropoids are simians including hominoids, New, and Old World monkeys. Hominoids lack tails, while monkeys in anthropoids have tails. Besides, hominoids have a better brain and mental capacity and a longer lifespan compared to monkeys in anthropoids.
Fossils of the first hominids were found in Africa and are between 26 to 30 million years old. This is in Fort Ternan, Kenya. Records show that hominids prefered woodland habitats. They had smaller blunt canines and could walk in an upright manner. They also had larger brains and could use tools and communicate through languages.
Humans have a close resemblance and relationship to apes, which are part of the sub-group Hominoidea. This genetic relationship to primates, which includes large, complex brains and even forward-facing eyes, makes them part of the sub-group Hominoidea. Their close relative is the chimpanzee. The only difference is that humans are more intelligent.
