
Humans, I tell you dear fellow human, are unique. Here’s a quick reminder on our zoological classification.
At the most specific classification — the species level at the bottom of the zoological taxonomic tree — we are homo sapiens, the modern humans. One level up from our species is the genus. We are in the genus homo. We are the only species in that genus.
Go up one level, we belong to the family hominidea. Our family includes chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans — the other great apes. We can detect the family resemblance. Apes have large brains and are bipedal.
Apes like us belong to the order primates. Besides us humans, the primate order includes apes, monkeys, and lemurs — animals that have a large brain, and they use their hands to manipulate objects. There are over 500 species of primates in the world. Continue reading “Diversity”