Bonobos – the rare great ape species – may be anatomically more closely linked to human ancestors than common chimpanzees, a new study suggests.
By studying the muscles of bonobos, researchers were able to discover that they are more closely related to human anatomy than common chimpanzees, in the sense that their muscles have changed less than they have in common chimpanzees.
Researchers, including those from George Washington University in the US, examined seven bonobos that had died and were being preserved.
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They said this was an extremely rare opportunity given bonobos' status as an endangered species.
Having a clear understanding of what makes humans different from our closest living relatives might lead to new breakthroughs or understandings of human health, researchers said.
"Bonobo muscles have changed least, which means they are the closest we can get to having a 'living' ancestor," said Bernard Wood, professor at George Washington University.
"Bonobo anatomy reveals stasis and mosaicism in chimpanzee evolution, and supports bonobos as the most appropriate extant model for the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans," researchers said.
"Our study has shown that there is a mosaic evolution of the three species, in the sense that some features are shared by humans and bonobos, others by humans and common chimpanzees, and still others by the two ape species," said Rui Diogo, associate professor at Howard University in the US.
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