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| | {{Taxonomy|image = Gorilla.jpg|kingdom = Animalia|phylum = Chordata|subphylum = Vertebrata|class = Mammalia|order = Primates|suborder = Hominoidea |family = Hominidae|subfamily = Homininae|tribe = Gorillini|genus = Gorilla|species = gorilla|alt = See article for full list of subspecies}} | | {{Taxonomy|image = Gorilla.jpg|kingdom = Animalia|phylum = Chordata|subphylum = Vertebrata|class = Mammalia|order = Primates|suborder = Hominoidea |family = Hominidae|subfamily = Homininae|tribe = Gorillini|genus = Gorilla|species = gorilla|alt = See article for full list of subspecies}} |
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| − | The '''gorilla''', the largest of the living [[primate]]s, is a ground-dwelling [[omnivore]] that inhabits the forests of [[Africa]]. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies.<ref>A proposed third subspecies of ''Gorilla beringei'' (which has not yet received a Latin designation) is the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest population of the Mountain Gorilla, called the ''Bwindi Gorilla'' [http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=13142 International Fund for Animal Welfare] </ref> Comparison of [[DNA]] sequences of humans and gorillas show them to be 99% identical. | + | The '''gorilla''', the largest of the living [[primate]]s, is a ground-dwelling [[omnivore]] that inhabits the forests of [[Africa]]. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies.<ref>A proposed third subspecies of ''Gorilla beringei'' (which has not yet received a Latin designation) is the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest population of the Mountain Gorilla, called the ''Bwindi Gorilla'' [http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=13142 International Fund for Animal Welfare] </ref> Comparison of [[DNA]] sequences of humans and gorillas show them to be 99% identical, but even with these similarities there are so many gaps in the sequence that it is nigh impossible for them to have descended from a common ancestor. |
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| | Attempts have been made to teach a gorilla named ''Koko'' a form of [[sign language]], although this is highly questionable.<ref>As part of her research into animal communication in 1972, a young graduate student in developmental psychology volunteered to teach sign language to a 1-year-old female Gorilla named Koko. [http://www.las.uiuc.edu/alumni/news/fall2003/03fall_Patterson.html] </ref> | | Attempts have been made to teach a gorilla named ''Koko'' a form of [[sign language]], although this is highly questionable.<ref>As part of her research into animal communication in 1972, a young graduate student in developmental psychology volunteered to teach sign language to a 1-year-old female Gorilla named Koko. [http://www.las.uiuc.edu/alumni/news/fall2003/03fall_Patterson.html] </ref> |
| − | Young earth [[creationist]]s believe that gorillas were [[creation|created]] about 4000 years ago, but the earth is billions of years old. According to evolutionary thought, humans shared a common ancestor with gorillas as recently as four to seven million years ago.<ref>Hobolth A, Christensen OF, Mailund T, Schierup MH (2007) Genomic Relationships and Speciation Times of Human, Chimpanzee, and Gorilla Inferred from a Coalescent Hidden Markov Model [http://genetics.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.0030007 PLoS Genet 3(2)]</ref> | + | Young earth [[creationist]]s believe that gorillas were [[creation|created]] about 4000 years ago. According to evolutionary thought, humans shared a common ancestor with gorillas as recently as four to seven million years ago.<ref>Hobolth A, Christensen OF, Mailund T, Schierup MH (2007) Genomic Relationships and Speciation Times of Human, Chimpanzee, and Gorilla Inferred from a Coalescent Hidden Markov Model [http://genetics.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.0030007 PLoS Genet 3(2)]</ref> |
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| | ==Taxonomy== | | ==Taxonomy== |