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Warning: prejudiced dogmatism is dangerous!
Ardipithecus ramidus
Legend below*
To clarify terminology:
"An ape is any member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates. Due to its ambiguous nature, the term ape is less suitable as a means of describing taxonomic relationships.
Under the current classification system there are two families of hominoids:
■ the family Hylobatidae consists of 4 genera and 14 species of gibbon, including the Lar Gibbon and the Siamang, collectively known as the lesser apes.
■ the family Hominidae consisting of chimpanzees, gorillas, humans and orangutans collectively known as the great apes.
... the term "hominid" is still used with the specific meaning of extinct animals more closely related to humans than the other great apes (for example, australopithecines), even though "hominin" is now correct in that usage.
Genetic analysis shows that apes diverged from the Old World monkeys between 29 million and 34.5 million years ago. The lesser and greater apes split about 18 mya, and the hominid splits happened 14 mya (Pongo), 7 mya (Gorilla), and 3-5 mya (Homo & Pan)." [source] Some sources date the split from the last common ancestor of chimps and humans to 5-7 mya.
* Legend (from TalkOrigins). This image (up) pre-dates the publication of information about the reconstructed skull of 4.4 My Ardipithecus ramidus (image below).
(A) Pan troglodytes, chimpanzee, modern
(B) Australopithecus africanus, STS 5, 2.6 My
(C) Australopithecus africanus, STS 71, 2.5 My
(D) Homo habilis, KNM-ER 1813, 1.9 My
(E) Homo habilis, OH24, 1.8 My
(F) Homo rudolfensis, KNM-ER 1470, 1.8 My
(G) Homo erectus, Dmanisi cranium D2700, 1.75 My
(H) Homo ergaster (early H. erectus), KNM-ER 3733, 1.75 My
(I) Homo heidelbergensis, "Rhodesia man," 300,000 - 125,000 y
(J) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, La Ferrassie 1, 70,000 y
(K) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, La Chappelle-aux-Saints, 60,000 y
(L) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, Le Moustier, 45,000 y
(M) Homo sapiens sapiens, Cro-Magnon I, 30,000 y
(N) Homo sapiens sapiens, modern
More: Climbing on the branches of the family tree: The hands of Ardipithecus ramidus . The feet of Ardipithecus ramidus . TalkOrigins: Fossil Hominids: The Evidence for Human Evolution . mariposa .
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