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comment by JakobVirgil
JakobVirgil  ·  4367 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Are western chimpanzees a new species of Pan?

congrats. Very nice article. The question in my mind is when do we get to be a species in Pan?





theadvancedapes  ·  4367 days ago  ·  link  ·  

To be honest, although I would support reclassifying western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) to a distinct species (Pan verus) in the same way bonobos were reclassified (they used to be known as pygmy chimpanzees, I wouldn't support humans and chimps to share the same genus (Pan). Homo is a distinct genus with a great number of species that share similar morphological and behavioural characteristics that Pan do not possess. Members of the genus Homo exhibit bipedality and more distinct brain to body size ratio. There is also a massive genetic gulf between the two genera (6-8 million years).

JakobVirgil  ·  4367 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I was teasing but do like a clean cladogram. Very nice article.