Homininae

Secretary Leonard Carmichael

Homininae

Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, which includes humans, their ancestors, and related species. This subfamily is part of the order Primates and the family Hominidae, commonly known as the great apes. The Homininae subfamily is divided into two tribes: Hominini and Gorillini.

Classification

The Homininae subfamily is classified as follows:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Primates
• Family: Hominidae
• Subfamily: Homininae

Tribes and Genera

The Homininae subfamily is divided into two main tribes:

• Hominini: This tribe includes the genus Homo (humans) and their close relatives, such as Australopithecus and Paranthropus.
• Gorillini: This tribe includes the genus Gorilla (gorillas).

Evolution and Fossil Record

The Homininae subfamily has a rich fossil record that provides insight into the evolution of humans and their relatives. Key fossil genera include:

• Sahelanthropus
• Orrorin
• Ardipithecus
• Australopithecus
• Paranthropus
• Homo

Characteristics

Members of the Homininae subfamily share several characteristics, including:

• Larger brain size compared to other primates
• Bipedal locomotion in the genus Homo
• Complex social structures and behaviors
• Use of tools and development of culture

Related Pages

• Hominidae
• Hominini
• Gorillini
• Homo
• Australopithecus
• Paranthropus
• Gorilla
• Primates
• Evolution of human intelligence
• Human evolution

See Also

• List of human evolution fossils
• Timeline of human evolution
• Human taxonomy