Proud to be a lovely ape

Everyone reading this is a survivor. Every. One. Let me explain:

Humans, along with gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos, belong to the family of primates known as great apes. This classification is based on our shared physical and genetic traits.

Humans did not evolve from any of the ape species alive today. Instead, humans and other apes share a common ancestor. This ancestral species no longer exists, but it was neither a modern human nor a modern ape. Over millions of years, different species evolved from this common ancestor in different directions, leading to the variety of apes today, including humans.

Humans belong to the genus Homo, which is one branch of the evolutionary tree that sprouted from our common ancestors with apes. Over time, several different species within this genus, such as Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals), Homo erectus, and others, existed. These species are often called different “strains” or types of humans.

Most species of the genus Homo have gone extinct. This includes well-known ones like Neanderthals and less known ones like Homo habilis. Human evolution is marked by a branching tree where many branches (species) did not survive. Today, Homo sapiens (modern humans) are the only surviving species of this genus.

See, modern humans are the ONLY SURVIVING SPECIES OF THIS GENUS. Those Neanderthal, Erectus and Hablis guys couldn’t hack it! But you survived, YOU BEAUTIFUL SAPIEN!

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