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ape
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Illustration comparing the body plans of representative anthropoids, showing a male western lowland gorilla, a male human, a male bonobo, a female Bornean orangutan, and male and female northern white-cheeked gibbons, all labeled and depicted to scale. Female orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) with reddish-brown fur sits on tree branches in a lush rainforest in Borneo. gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
The video thumbnail image shows two black and white photos of monkey and ape heads, surrounded by blue and pink circles.
A gorilla sits on a tree trunk with a blue arrow pointing to it. Large text reads, "What makes apes so special?" with trees and zoo habitat in the background.
Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) Diagram tracing the evolutionary split of humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas over the past 12 million years, with skull illustrations for key hominin species and African great apes, and branching lines showing divergence points.
Why don't humans have tails?
A mother orangutan hangs from a tree branch while her baby clings to her side in the forest of Mount Leuser National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. A siamang (Hylobates syndactylus) with black fur sits on rocky ground, facing left, with large rocks in the background.
At a Glance
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ape summary
Quizzes
Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.
Ultimate Animals Quiz
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
Related Questions

ape: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

William C. McGrew, Linda F. Marchant, and Toshisada Nishida, Great Ape Societies (1996), consists of a series of accounts covering all aspects of the lives of the great apes as observed in the wild. Great Apes (1997), produced and directed by Nigel Ashcroft, is a video documentary examining morphology, evolution, and natural history. Holger Preuschoft et al. (eds.), The Lesser Apes: Evolutionary and Behavioural Biology (1984), is an account by numerous experts on all aspects of the anatomy, taxonomy, and behaviour of gibbons. Vernon Reynolds, The Apes: The Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Orangutan, and Gibbon (1967, reissued 1971), is well illustrated and intended for a general readership. Robert M. Yerkes and Ada W. Yerkes, The Great Apes: A Study of Anthropoid Life (1929, reprinted 1970), remains a classic and accessible work. Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer (eds.), The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity (1993, reissued 1996), draws ethical conclusions about the treatment of our closest living relatives based on recent scientific findings.

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Invalidated site: Frontiers - Frontiers in Psychology - Apes have culture but may not know that they do. Aug 06, 2026
Media added. May 04, 2026
Add new Web site: PNAS - Ape gestures and language evolution. Mar 20, 2025
Add new Web site: The Royal Society Publishing - Royal Society Open Science - Downclimbing and the evolution of ape forelimb morphologies. Jan 07, 2025
Add new Web site: Open University - OpenLearn - The apes and their relationship to humans. Nov 12, 2024
Media added. Oct 04, 2024
Add new Web site: PNAS - Ape gestures and language evolution. Aug 23, 2024
Add new Web site: Frontiers - Frontiers in Psychology - Apes have culture but may not know that they do. Jun 25, 2024
Media added. Apr 23, 2024
Add new Web site: Palomar College - Apes. Aug 21, 2023
Add new Web site: Nature - Complete sequencing of ape genomes. May 04, 2023
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Why are there apes? Evidence for the co‐evolution of ape and monkey ecomorphology. Mar 24, 2023
Add new Web site: AZ Animals - Ape. Jul 18, 2022
Noted that gorillas have been assigned to a different tribe from chimpanzees and bonobos. Nov 29, 2017
Added diagram showing the divergence path between the human lineage and the lineage of other great apes. Nov 29, 2017
Add new Web site: Easy Science for Kids - Apes � Larger and Intelligent Animals. Aug 23, 2016
Add new Web site: LiveScience - Facts About Apes. Aug 23, 2016
Add new Web site: University of Michigan - Museum of Zoology - Animal Diversity Web - Great Apes and Humans. Aug 26, 2013
Add new Web site: Animal Planet - Ape. Aug 26, 2013
Media added. Dec 16, 2008
Added new Web site: Healthline - Antioxidants Explained in Human Terms. May 28, 2008
Article revised. Mar 16, 2006
Article revised. May 29, 2002
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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