Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Evolutionary history
Taxonomic relationships
The genus Pan is now considered to be part of the subfamily Homininae to which humans also belong. These two species are the closest living evolutionary relatives to humans. Humans shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees five to eight million years ago. Groundbreaking research by Mary-Claire King in 1973 found 99% identical DNA between human beings and chimpanzees, although research since has modified that finding to about 94% commonality, with at least some of the difference occurring in 'junk' DNA. It has even been proposed that troglodytes and paniscus belong with sapiens in the genus Homo, rather than in Pan. One argument for this is that other species have been reclassified to belong to the same genus on the basis of less genetic similarity than that between humans and chimpanzees.
The Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo do not swim. It has been suggested that the formation of the Congo River 1.5–2 million years ago separated the ancestors of the Bonobo south of the river, from the ancestors of the Common Chimpanzee to the north of the river. This event is thought to have triggered the speciation of the two chimpanzee species.
Anatomy and physiology
A fully grown adult male chimpanzee can weigh from 35–70 kilograms and stand 0.9–1.2 metres tall, while females usually weigh 26–50 kg and stand 0.66–1 m tall.
Chimpanzees rarely live past the age of 40 in the wild, but have been known to reach the age of more than 60 in captivity. Cheeta, star of Tarzan was widely reported to have been still alive as of 2008 at the age of 76, which would make him the oldest chimp in the world. This claim has been questioned by others though.
Behavior
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Anatomical differences between the Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo are slight, but in sexual and social behaviour there are marked differences. The Common Chimpanzee has an omnivorous diet, a troop hunting culture based on beta males led by an alpha male, and...
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