Bonobo (Pan Paniscus)

Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are hominoid primates and, together with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), are the closest living relatives of humans. Molecular data suggest that the split between bonobos and chimpanzees happened in the Middle Pleistocene (1–2 million years ago) and the divergent evolution of the two sister species is often related to their geographic separation. Ever since its late discovery by Harold Coolidge, information from the two sister species has inspired researchers in such diverse fields as anatomy, functional morphology, social behavior, evolutionary psychology, and cognition. Because of the close phylogenetic relationship betweenPanand humans, data from bonobos and chimpanzees are often used when modeling human evolution.