Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

Male chimpanzee looking forwards

Chimpanzees travel around the forests and savannas of central Africa on all fours with a knuckle-walk, using their characteristic long arms and short legs. Sharing 98 percent of human genes, they are our closest living relative and probably the most intelligent non-human animal. They show learned behaviours, long memories and some extraordinary use of tools. Chimpanzees are very similar to humans both in appearance and in their complex social behaviours and societies.

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About the Common Chimpanzee

The Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), also known as the Robust Chimpanzee, is a great ape. The name troglodytes, Greek for 'cave-dweller', was coined by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in his Handbuch der Naturgeschichte (Handbook of Natural History) published in 1779. Colloquially, it is often called the chimpanzee (or simply 'chimp'), though technically this term refers to both species in the genus Pan: the Common Chimpanzee and the closely-related Bonobo, or Pygmy Chimpanzee. The chimpanzee is believed to be the closest living relative of human beings.

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Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animal (animalia)

Phylum: Chordate (Chordata)

Class: Mammal (Mammalia)

Order: Primate (Primates)

Family: Hominidae

Genus: Chimpanzee (Pan)

Species: Common Chimpanzee (troglodytes)

Common Names

  • Chimpanzee
  • Common chimpanzee

Where can I see them?

They can be found in the following habitats:

Conservation Status

The Common Chimpanzee is Endangered (IUCN 3.1)

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Population trend: Decreasing

Year assessed: 2008

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