biology

Gibbon–human last common ancestor

Gibbon–human last common ancestor is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gibbon–human last common ancestor rather than just read about it. In short: The gibbon–human last common ancestor is the last common ancestor of the superfamily Hominoidea (apes), dating to the split of the Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae (great apes) families. It is dated to the early Miocene, roughly 20 to 16 million years ago.

Key takeaways

Gibbon–human last common ancestor belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gibbon–human last common ancestor to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gibbon–human last common ancestor from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The gibbon–human last common ancestor is the last common ancestor of the superfamily Hominoidea (apes), dating to the split of the Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae (great apes) families. It is dated to the early Miocene, roughly 20 to 16 million years ago. Hylobatidae has four gibbon genera (Hylobates with 9 species, Hoolock with 3 species, Nomascus with 7 species and Symphalangus with only 1 species) containing 20 different species. Hominidae has two subfamilies, Ponginae (orangutans) and Homininae (African apes, including the human lineage).

Evolutionary history

A 2014 whole-genome molecular dating analysis indicated that the gibbon lineage diverged from that of great apes (Hominidae) around 17 million years ago (16.8±0.9 Mya), based on certain assumptions about the generation time and mutation rate. The extinct Bunopithecus sericus was a gibbon or gibbon-like ape. Adaptive divergence associated with chromosomal rearrangements led to rapid radiation of the four genera within the Hylobatidae lineage between about 7 to 5 Mya. Each genus comprises a distinct, well-delineated lineage, but the sequence and timing of divergences among these genera have been hard to resolve due to radiative speciations and extensive incomplete lineage sorting. Recent coalescent-based analysis of both the coding and noncoding parts of the genome suggests that the most likely sequence of species divergences in the Hylobatidae lineage is (Hylobates, (Nomascus, (Hoolock, Symphalangus))). Though other studies have also found different topology.

Appearance and ecology Because fossils are so scarce, it is not clear what GHLCA looked like. A 2019 study found that the species was "smaller than previously thought" and about the size of a gibbon. It is unknown whether GHLCA was tailless and had a broad, flat rib cage like their descendants. But it is likely that it was a small animal, probably weighing only 12 kilograms (26 lb). This contradicts previous theories that they were the size of chimpanzees and that apes moved to hang and to swing from trees to get off the ground because they were too big. There might have been an arms race in brachiating to reach the best food. Also, the Hominidae, which came later, were smaller than their ancestors, which is contrary to normal evolution where animals get larger over their evolutionary development.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gibbon–human last common ancestor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gibbon–human last common ancestor claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gibbon–human last common ancestor before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gibbon–human last common ancestor ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gibbon–human last common ancestor

In research: Gibbon–human last common ancestor appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gibbon–human last common ancestor in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gibbon–human last common ancestor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Events in biological evolution, Human evolution, Most recent common ancestors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gibbon–human last common ancestor outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gibbon–human last common ancestor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gibbon–human last common ancestor means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gibbon–human last common ancestor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gibbon–human last common ancestor in simple terms?

Why does Gibbon–human last common ancestor matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gibbon–human last common ancestor?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gibbon–human last common ancestor.