Chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
Pan paniscus
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Chimpanzees, also called
chimps, are the common name for two
species in the
genus Pan. The best known chimpanzee is
Pan troglodytes, the
Common Chimpanzee, living in
West and
Central Africa. Its cousin, the
Bonobo or Pygmy Chimpanzee (
Pan paniscus), is found in the forests of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. The boundary between the two species is formed by the
Congo River.
Chimpanzee differences
Anatomical differences between Common and Pygmy Chimpanzees are slight, but in sexual and social behaviour there are marked differences. Common Chimpanzees have an omnivorous diet, a troop hunting culture based on beta males led by a relatively weak alpha, and highly complex social relationships; Bonobos, on the other hand, have a mostly vegetarian diet and an egalitarian, matriarchal, sexually promiscuous culture.
Taxonomic relationships
The genus Pan is now considered to be part of the subfamily Homininae to which humans also belong. Biologists believe that the chimpanzees are the closest living evolutionary relatives to humans. Their common ancestor branched off from its latest common ancestor with us as recently as four to seven million years ago, and they have 98 to 99.4 percent of their DNA in common with humans, which prompted biologist Jared Diamond to dub humans "the third chimpanzee."
See the history of hominoid taxonomy for more about the history of the classification of chimpanzees.
See also
