Tuesday, August 2, 2011

How closely related are Orangutans to us Humans?

Orangutans are our next closest relative after the gorilla. The gorilla is next closest after the bonobo and the chimp. The next closest after the orangutan are the lesser apes, or gibbons. Gibbons still retain some of the traits of Old World monkeys. Old World monkeys are more closely related to us than we are to the New World monkeys. Next closest after the New World monkeys are the tarsiers. Primates that are more distant to us than the tarsiers are the prosimians such as the lemurs, slow lorises, bushbabies, and the aye aye. The closest relative of the primate family is the colugo, also known as the flying lemur, but it is not a true lemur.

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