by Demand:
The image shows a true gibbon skeleton, showing the similarities between humans and other apes.
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Context:
The image in question is real and there is a gibbon, a primate called “smaller ape.” Humans are also considered primates but belong to a subset of species known as the “greater apes.” Living hominoids are commonly divided into two families: Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae (gorillas, chimpanzees and humans).
Showing a skeleton with a human head and hands that reach almost to the ground, and image shared on X (formerly Twitter) in April 2024 claimed to demonstrate that “people are apes.” At the time of writing, the photo had received more than 830,000 views.
In the comments section, social media users debated whether the skeleton was, in fact, human-like — and to what extent the common characteristics indicated that “humans are apes,” as the post suggested.
To find the source of the image, Snopes did a reverse search using Tineye. It revealed that the photo had been shared online for over ten years, including on a page hosted by Wikimedia Commons.
On that page, the photo was described as the skeleton of an unidentified species of gibbon, a type of game. The photograph was said to have been taken on September 20, 2006, and the specimen is reported to have been presented to the Department of Zoology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Snopes has contacted the institute for more information on the specimen and will update this article accordingly.
Similar images of gibbon skeletons can be found published by other reputable publications and institutions, including New Scientistthe University of Edinburgh and the University College London.
We have rated this claim as “True,” as the gibbon skeleton image truly shows, and both humans and gibbons are considered apes.
We should clarify the relationship between gibbons and humans and what that means for evolutionary history. Although humans are primates — a group that includes monkeys and apes — our species is not descended from any other primate on earth today, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Gibbons are classified into a group called the “lesser apes,” while humans belong to another subset called the “great apes.” Apes, or living hominoids, are commonly divided into two families: Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae (gorillas, chimpanzees and humans).
(Public Domain)
Apes are distantly related to monkeys that lived 25 million years ago, the Smithsonian wrote on its Human Origins website.
A fossil Put down in 2022 sa Journal of Human Evolution determined that there was a species of gibbon in the forests of southern China more than 7 million years ago. Although the exact timing of human evolution continues to evolve within the scientific, research community published in 2021 indicates that people differ from others apes sometime between 6.5 million and 9.3 million years ago.
A variety of species arose from that common ancestor and some early humans are thought to have lived at the same time. Today, however, the only surviving species of early humans is ours, Homo sapiens.
Great Apes are so named for our large bodies and well-developed brains, the Australian Museum write. Apes, including humans, are recognized by their lack of an external tail. Gibbons are in the family Hylobatidae and they include about 20 species, according to the The International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Sources:
Almécija, Sergio, et al. “Fossil Apes and Human Evolution.” Science, vol. 372, no. 6542, May 2021, p. eabb4363. DOI.org (Crossref)https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb4363.
Earliest Gibbon Fossils Reveal Clues About Apes History. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/november/earliest-gibbon-fossil-unlocks-clues-about-the-history-of-apes.html . Accessed 29 April 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions | Smithsonian Institution Human Foundations Program. 11 July 2022, http://humanorigins.si.edu/education/frequently-asked-questions.
—. 11 July 2022, http://humanorigins.si.edu/education/frequently-asked-questions.
“Gibbons: Facts, Habitat, Diet, and Conservation.” IFAW, https://www.ifaw.org/animals/gibbons. Accessed 29 April 2024.
Hominoids – Overview | ScienceDirect topics. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/hominoids. Accessed 29 April 2024.
—. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/hominoids. Accessed 29 April 2024.
Ji, Xueping, et al. “Earliest Hylobatid from the Late Miocene of China.” Journal of Human Evolution, vol. 171, October 2022, p. 103251. ScienceDirecthttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103251.
News, Opening Hours Mon-Sun: 9am-9pm Address 1. William StreetSydney NSW 2010 Australia Phone +61 2. 9320 6000 www australian museum Copyright ©. 2024 Australian Museum ABN 85 407 224 698 View the Museum. “Humans and Other Great Apes.” Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/humans-are-apes-great-apes/australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/humans-are-apes-great-apes/ . Accessed 29 April 2024.
Specimen of the Week 213: The Enigmatic Gibbon | UCL Culture Blog UCL. https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/2015/11/09/specimen-of-the-week-213-the-enigmatic-gibbon/. Accessed 29 April 2024.
