Pongidae

Pongidae, or the pongids, is an obsolete primate taxon containing gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans. They are sometimes called "great apes".[1] Pongidae is now known to be paraphyletic. Pongids split from Hominina around seven mya.[2] The corresponding crown group for this taxon is Hominidae. Pongidae has seven extant member species. This taxon is rarely used today but is of historical significance.[3][4]

For an explanation of very similar terms, see Hominoidea.
Not to be confused with Ponginae.

Pongidae
Temporal range: Late Miocene to Recent
Gorilla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Pongidae
Elliot 1913
Genera

Distinction to hominins
PongidsHumans[notes 1]
Mode of locomotionKnuckle walking, arborealBipedalism
Location of foramen magnumBack of the skullUnder the skull
Average brain capacity400 cc1700 cc
Skull (viewed from top)pear-shapedovoid
Widest part of skull viewed from behindParietal regionBase of the skull(near the auditory region)
PalateRectangularParabolic
Body GrowthFastSlow
PhalangesCurvedStraight

Skull

The pongid skull contains the following features that are absent or less pronounced in humans:

  • a sulcus behind the brow ridges
  • prognathism
  • a protruding occipital region
  • large, bony eye sockets
  • a large nasal opening
  • constriction just behind the orbital region
  • stout facial bones
  • a diastema
  • a simian shelf

Adaptations for locomotion

The following adaptations are for arboreal and knuckle walking locomotion and are not found in humans:

PongidHuman
Arms are as long as or longer than the legsArms are shorter than the legs
Scapula has an orientation for supporting the body weight beneath the armsScapula is oriented for holding the arms by the side
Digits are long and curved for grasping branchesDigits are shorter and straight
Pelvis is shaped to support the legs and trunk in the bent-over posturePelvis is shaped to support the legs and trunk in a vertical position
Knees do not lock the legsKnees lock the legs straight to minimize the expenditure of energy when standing
Pelvis is relatively largePelvis is much shorter and bowl-shaped
Iliac pillar is elongatedThe iliac crest is oriented more to the side and slanted

Similarity to hominins

The australopithecines show intermediate character states between pongids and humans, with Pithecanthropus intermediate between australopithecines and humans. Members of the genus Homo share many key features with anatomically modern man.

See also

References
  1. "Pongid definition".
  2. Cordain, Loren (2007). "Implications of Plio-pleistocene diets for modern humans". In Peter S. Ungar (ed.). Evolution of the human diet: the known, the unknown and the unknowable. pp. 264–5. "Since the evolutionary split between hominins and pongids approximately 7 million years ago, the available evidence shows that all species of hominins ate an omnivorous diet composed of minimally processed, wild-plant, and animal foods.
  3. "Shoshani J, Groves CP, Simons EL & Gunnell GF., 1996. Primate phylogeny: morphological vs. molecular results. Mol Phyl. Evol., 5(1):102-54". Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
  4. ITIS
  1. Humans are the only extant Homininans.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.