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Mountain Gorilla


Mountain Gorilla
Photo Information
Copyright: Tom Conzemius (pirate) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 799 W: 152 N: 1186] (7474)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2013-10-30
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Canon 7D, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Exposure: f/5.0, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): CeltickRanger's favorite wild animal photos 3 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2013-12-03 11:14
Viewed: 2399
Points: 18
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
While the genetic difference between individual humans today is minuscule – about 0.1%, on average – study of the same aspects of the chimpanzee genome indicates a difference of about 1.2%. The bonobo (Pan paniscus), which is the close cousin of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), differs from humans to the same degree. The DNA difference with gorillas, another of the African apes, is about 1.6%. Most importantly, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans all show this same amount of difference from gorillas. A difference of 3.1% distinguishes us and the African apes from the Asian great ape, the orangutan. How do the monkeys stack up? All of the great apes and humans differ from rhesus monkeys, for example, by about 7% in their DNA.
From: Smithonian: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/genetics

Are we hominids or apes?

Best summary to a long ongoing debate from T. Ryan Gregory:

I’m afraid there is some confusion here about why humans are considered “Great Apes”, and also about some basic phylogenetic concepts.

First, “lumping” humans in with the other Great Apes is not an issue of morphology similarity. It is a phylogenetic question. Because humans are evolutionarily more closely related to chimpanzees/bonobos than either is to the other Great Apes, the category “Great Ape” would be paraphyletic if humans are excluded. This is a no-no from a cladistic classification standpoint. If the term “Great Apes” is to be evolutionarily meaningful, it must include humans.

This raises the second issue, which is the notion of what an “extant sister taxon” is. Again, this is not about morphological similarity, it is about evolutionary relatedness. A sister taxon is the closest living relative, that is the taxon with which another taxon shares its most recent common ancestor to the exclusion of other extant taxa. Humans do have an extant sister taxon, and it’s chimps/bonobos.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/02/13/the-great-ape-taxonomy-debate/#comment-7232
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659] (65489)
  • [2013-12-03 11:20]

Hi Tom,how is tender this portrait,great capture the very difficult location and light,the best DOF for the best details on its funny face,i like it! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2013-12-03 12:14]

Hello Tom,
Another very beautiful portrait in excellent quality. Fantastic....these eyes!
Regards,
Peter

Nice portrait and nice composition,expressive look.
Thanks to share

Ciao francesco

Hello Tom
Nice portrait. good expression you catch.
tfs.
samiran

Hello Mr.Tom,
Philosopher's eyes.Nice pose.Like this picture.
Thanks for sharing,
Regards,
Srikumar

Hi tom, must be very impressive to be eye to eye with these big apes!! Good shot.
Pierre

GREAT portrait Tom! Excellent composition and wonderful colours! The sharpness is impressive!
Regards,
Christodoulos

Hello Tom

The the glance on you of this Mountain Gorilla is so beautiful,
the POV you choose contributing to that, in a beautiful light, TFS

Asbed

Boy am I envious of your beautiful close up of the mountain gorilla. Hopefully one day I will have such an opportunity to photograph one of earth most rarest animals in the wild. :)

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