Hominoid

From Wikinfo

Hominoid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Hominidae Genus: Homo
Species
H. habilis (extinct) H. rudolfensis (extinct) H. ergaster (extinct) H. erectus (extinct) H. heidelbergensis (extinct) H. neanderthalensis (extinct) H. sapiens (modern humans)

The hominoids (genus Homo) are a group of hominids that contains modern humans (Homo sapiens) as well as a number of extinct species. Homo is Latin for man.

Note that the division of extinct members of the genus Homo is still under discussion. H. habilis, H. erectus and (of course) H. sapiens are generally recognized, but H. rudolfensis and H. ergaster are sometimes classified under H. habilis and H. erectus respectively, while H. heidelbergensis and H. neanderthalensis are sometimes classified as sub-species of H. sapiens, thus giving

• Species habilis (extinct)
  • Subspecies rudolfensis (extinct)
• Species erectus (extinct)
  • Subspecies ergaster (extinct)
• Species sapiens
  • Subspecies heidelbergensis (extinct)
  • Subspecies neanderthalensis (extinct)

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Hominoid" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominoid, used under the GNU Free Documentation License