Pongidae

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Pongidae The name given to the family grouping the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), and bonobo or pygmy chimpanzee (Pan paniscus) of Africa and the orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) and sometimes the gibbons (Hylobates) of Asia. Most authorities now prefer to include the African apes, and probably the orang-utan as well, in the family Hominidae, on the grounds that they are close to humans in phylogenetic terms, the chimpanzee being the closest, followed by the gorilla. The former ‘Pongidae’ do not form a monophyletic group.

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