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[[Category:Primates]]
'''Ape''' is a common, yet rather imprecise, name for some [[animal]]s of the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Primate]]s. Its earliest meaning was a tailless (and therefore exceptionally human-like) non-human primate, but as zoological knowledge developed it became clear that taillessness occurred in a number of different and otherwise unrelated [[species]].
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Modern scientific usage includes two [[family (biology)|families]] as apes:
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*the family [[Hylobatidae]] consists of 12 species of [[gibbon]]s, including the Lar and the Siamang, collectively known as the lesser apes
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*the family [[Hominidae]] consisting of [[Gorilla]]s, [[Chimpanzee]]s and [[Bonobo]]s, [[Orangutan]]s, and [[Humans]], collectively known as the great apes.
The great ape family was previously referred to as Pongidae, and humans (and fossil hominids) were omitted from it, but on grounds of relatedness there is no argument for doing this. Chimpanzees, gorillas, humans and orangutans are all more closely related to one another than any of these four genera are to the gibbons and siamangs. Awkwardly, however, the term "hominid" is still used with the specific meaning of extinct animals more closely related to humans than the other great apes (for example, [[australopithecine]]s). It is now usual to use the [[subfamily (biology)|subfamily]] [[Homininae]] to separate the hominids, in this narrow sense, from the extant non-human members of the family Hominidae.
Current evidence implies that humans share a common, extinct, ancestor with the chimpanzee/bonobo line, from which we separated more recently than the gorilla line. All living members of the Hylobatidae and Hominidae are tailless, and humans can therefore accurately be referred to as bipedal apes. However there are also primates in other families that lack tails.
Both great apes and lesser apes fall within the [[superfamily]] [[Catarrhini]], which also includes the [[Old World monkeys]] of [[Africa]] and [[Eurasia]]. Within this group, both families of apes can be distinguished from these [[monkey]]s by the number of cusps on their [[molar (tooth)|molar]]s (apes have five - the "Y-5" molar pattern, Old World monkeys have only four in a "bilophodont" pattern). Apes have more mobile shoulder joints and arms, ribcages that are flatter front-to-back, and a shorter, less mobile spine compared to Old World monkeys. These are all anatomical adaptations to vertical hanging and swinging locomotion (brachiation) in the apes.
The original usage of "ape" in English may have referred to the [[baboon]], an African monkey. Two tailless species of [[macaque]] are commonly named as apes, the [[Barbary Ape]] of North Africa (introduced into [[Gibraltar]]), ''Macaca sylvanus'', and the Sulawesi black ape or [[Sulawesi Crested Macaque]], ''M. niger''.
Except for Gorillas and Humans, all true apes are agile climbers of trees. They are best described as omnivorous, their diet consisting of fruit, grass seeds, and in most cases small quantities of meat (either hunted or scavenged), along with anything else available and easily digested. They are native to Africa and Asia.
Most ape species are rare or [[Endangered_species|endangered]]. The chief threat to most ape species is loss of tropical rainforest habitat, though some populations are further imperiled by hunting for [[bushmeat]].
==Cultural aspects==
The intelligence and humanoid appearance of apes are responsible for legends which attribute human qualities; for example, apes are sometimes said to be able to speak but refuse to do so in order to avoid work. They are also said to be the result of a curse -- a Jewish folktale claims that one of the races who built the [[Tower of Babel]] became apes as punishment, while Muslim lore says that the Jews of [[Elath]] became apes as punishment for fishing on the Sabbath. Christian folklore claims that apes are a symbol of lust and were created by [[Satan]] in response to [[God]]'s creation of humans. It is uncertain whether any of these references is specifically to apes, since all date from a period when the distinction between apes and monkeys was not widely understood, or not understood at all.
In some cultures APE is a ''[[bee]]''.
[[da:Menneskeabe]]
[[de:Menschenaffen]]
[[nl:Mensaap]]
[[sv:Människoapor]]
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