Hominidae

The Hominidae (/hɒˈmɪnᵻdiː/), also known as great apes or hominids, are a taxonomic family of primates that includes seven extant species in four genera: Pongo, the Bornean and Sumatran orangutan; Gorilla, the eastern and western gorilla; Pan, the common chimpanzee and bonobo; and Homo, the human.

Several revisions in classifying the great apes have caused the use of the term "hominid" to vary over time. Its original meaning referred only to humans (Homo) and their closest relatives. That restrictive meaning has now been largely assumed by the term "hominin", which comprises all members of the human clade after the split from the chimpanzees (Pan). (See below, for a fuller discussion of related and very similar terms, at Terminology.) The current, 21st century, meaning of "hominid" refers to all the great apes including humans. Usage still varies, however, and some scientists and laypersons still use "hominid" in the original restrictive sense; the scholarly literature generally shows the traditional usage until around the turn of the 21st century.

Great apes (disambiguation)

Great apes are primates in the family Hominidae.

Great apes may also refer to:

Great Apes (novel)

Great Apes is a 1997 novel by Will Self.

Plot synopsis

After a night of drug use, Simon Dykes wakes up in a world where chimpanzees have evolved to be the dominant species with self-awareness, while humans are the equivalent of chimps in our world.

Reviews

"Planet of the Apes meets Nineteen Eighty-Four. Simon Dykes wakes up one morning to a world where chimpanzees are self-aware and humans are the equivalent of chimps in our world. Simon has lived a life of quick drugs, shallow artists and meaningless sex. But this London, much like a PG Tips advert, has chimps in human clothing but with their chimpness intact. The carnivalesque world is humorous, gripping and provocative."

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