Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, which includes humans, gorillas and chimpanzees, and some extinct human relatives; it comprises all those hominids, such as Australopithecus, that arose after the split from the other great apes (of which orangutans are the only surviving group).
Until 1980, the family Hominidae contained only humans, with the great apes in the family Pongidae.[1] Discoveries led to a revision of classification, with the great apes (now Ponginae) and humans (Homininae) united in Hominidae.[2] Further discoveries indicated that gorillas and chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than they are to orangutans, hence their current placement in Homininae.[3] Some researchers have challenged the molecular DNA evidence on morphological grounds, arguing humans are more closely related to orangutans. [4] Hominoid taxonomy has had several changes in the classification of apes in recent years.
Hominoid family tree
The subfamily Homininae can be further subdivided into the tribes Gorillini (gorillas) and Hominini (bonobos, chimpanzees and humans). The early Late Miocene Nakalipithecus nakayamai, described in 2007, and perhaps also its contemporary Ouranopithecus, are basal members of this clade, not assignable to either the gorilla or the chimpanzee-humans lineage. They suggest that the Homininae tribes diverged not earlier than about 8 million years ago.[citation needed]
A hominin is a member of the tribe Hominini, a hominine is a member of the subfamily Homininae, a hominid is a member of the family Hominidae, and a hominoid is a member of the superfamily Hominoidea.
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