This indicates that both humans and members of the Pan clade were present in the East African Rift Valley during the Middle Pleistocene. Existing chimpanzee populations in West and Central Africa do not overlap with the major human fossil sites in East Africa, but chimpanzee fossils have now been reported from Kenya. ĭespite a large number of Homo fossil finds, Pan fossils were not described until 2005. Based on genome sequencing by The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium. The branch lengths are a measure of evolutionary distinctness. The bonobo was recognised as distinct from the chimpanzee by 1933. Another German naturalist, Lorenz Oken, coined the genus Pan in 1816. The German naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach classified the chimpanzee as Simia troglodytes by 1775. Another Dutch anatomist, Peter Camper, dissected specimens from Central Africa and Southeast Asia in the 1770s, noting the differences between the African and Asian apes. In 1641, the Dutch anatomist Nicolaes Tulp applied the name to a chimpanzee or bonobo brought to the Netherlands from Angola. The first great ape known to Western science in the 17th century was the ' orang-outang' (genus Pongo), the local Malay name being recorded in Java by the Dutch physician Jacobus Bontius. The genus name Pan derives from the Greek god, while the specific name troglodytes was taken from the Troglodytae, a mythical race of cave-dwellers.

The colloquialism 'chimp' was most likely coined some time in the late 1870s. It is derived from Vili ci-mpenze or Tshiluba language chimpenze, with a meaning of ' ape'. The English word chimpanzee is first recorded in 1738. Many attempts have been made to teach languages such as American Sign Language to chimpanzees, with limited success. Some hundreds have been kept in laboratories for research, especially in America. They are sometimes kept as pets, though their strength, aggressiveness, and unpredictability makes them dangerous in this role. Chimpanzees appear in Western popular culture as stereotyped clown-figures and have featured in entertainments such as chimpanzees' tea parties, circus acts and stage shows.

The biggest threats to the chimpanzee are habitat loss, poaching, and disease. Between 170,000 and 300,000 individuals are estimated across its range. The chimpanzee is listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. The infant is weaned at about three years old but usually maintains a close relationship with its mother for several years more. The species has also been found creating sharpened sticks to spear small mammals. Nearly all chimpanzee populations have been recorded using tools, modifying sticks, rocks, grass and leaves and using them for hunting and acquiring honey, termites, ants, nuts and water. The species lives in a strict male-dominated hierarchy, where disputes are generally settled without the need for violence. The chimpanzee lives in groups that range in size from 15 to 150 members, although individuals travel and forage in much smaller groups during the day. It is larger and more robust than the bonobo, weighing 40–70 kg (88–154 lb) for males and 27–50 kg (60–110 lb) for females and standing 120 to 150 cm (3 ft 11 in to 4 ft 11 in).

The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that Pan is a sister taxon to the human lineage and is humans' closest living relative. The chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo are classified in the genus Pan. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. The chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes), also known simply as chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa.

Anthropopithecus troglodytes ( Sutton, 1883).

Troglodytes troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1776).

Chimpanzee hand axe