hominid

Hominid is a term used in primatology and paleoanthropology to refer to members of the family Hominidae, which includes the great apes—orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees—and humans, along with their fossil relatives. In many contemporary usages, “hominid” is used to denote all members of Hominidae, while “hominin” specifically refers to humans and our closest extinct ancestors after the split from the lineage leading to chimpanzees.

Taxonomy and relationships within the family place orangutans in subfamily Ponginae, while the African great apes and humans are in subfamily Homininae. Within Homininae, the tribe Hominini comprises humans and their closest extinct relatives, and the genus Homo contains modern humans (Homo sapiens) and several close ancestors.

Hominids are characterized by a combination of traits including relatively large brains for body size and, in the human lineage, obligate bipedal locomotion. The fossil record shows a gradual shift from more ape-like ancestors to increasingly human-like forms, beginning with early australopiths in Africa around 4 to 2 million years ago and the emergence of the genus Homo in the late Pliocene. Homo species display greater brain expansion and more sophisticated tool use over time.

Fossil highlights include Ardipithecus and Australopithecus as early potential hominids, Homo erectus as a key disperser out of Africa, and Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) in Europe and western Asia, who coexisted with early Homo sapiens. Anatomically modern humans appeared in Africa about 300,000 years ago and eventually spread worldwide.

Today, the only surviving members of Hominidae are the great apes and humans, with humans representing the sole surviving lineage of the tribe Hominini.