Hominini

Hominini
Temporal range: 7–0 Ma
Two hominins: A human holding a chimpanzee (Joseph V. Brady and Ham the chimp)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Hominini
Arambourg, 1948[1]
Type genus
Homo
Linnaeus, 1758
Genera

The Hominini (hominins) form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae (hominines). They comprise two extant genera: Homo (humans) and Pan (chimpanzees and bonobos), but in standard usage exclude the genus Gorilla (gorillas), which is grouped separately within subfamily Homininae.

The term Hominini was originally introduced by Camille Arambourg (1948), who combined the categories of Hominina and Simiina pursuant to Gray's classifications (1825).

Taxonomic classification of the superfamily Hominoidae (hominoids), emphasizing the tribe Hominini. 𝄪 Tribe Hominini (lower left in graphic) comprises two genera, Homo and Pan; while gorillas are classified as separate from these—as the single genus Gorilla of tribe Gorillini; all of subfamily Homininae.

Traditionally, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans were grouped together, excluding humans, as pongids. Since Gray's classifications, evidence accumulating from genetic phylogeny confirmed that humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas are more closely related to each other than to the orangutan.[3] The orangutans were reassigned to the family Hominidae (great apes), which already included humans; and the gorillas were grouped as a separate tribe (Gorillini) of the subfamily Homininae.[3] Still, details of this reassignment remain contested, and of publishing since (on tribe Hominini), not every source excludes gorillas and not every source includes chimpanzees.

Humans are the only extant species in the Australopithecine branch (subtribe), which also contains many extinct close relatives of humans.

  1. ^ Arambourg, C. (1948). "La Classification des Primates et Particulierement des Hominiens". Mammalia. 12 (3). doi:10.1515/mamm.1948.12.3.123. S2CID 84553920.
  2. ^ Fuss, J.; Spassov, N.; Begun, D. R.; Böhme, M. (2017). "Potential hominin affinities of Graecopithecus from the Late Miocene of Europe". PLOS ONE. 12 (5): e0177127. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1277127F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0177127. PMC 5439669. PMID 28531170.
  3. ^ a b McNulty, K. P. (2016). "Hominin Taxonomy and Phylogeny: What's In A Name?". Nature Education Knowledge. 7 (1): 2. However, overwhelming genetic evidence has since demonstrated that humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas are much more closely related to each other than to the orangutan ... Thus, there is no genetic support for grouping the great apes together in a distinct group from humans. For this reason, many researchers now place all species of great ape and human within a single family, Hominidae – making them all proper 'hominids'.