Bonobos are distinguished from common chimpanzees by relatively long limbs, pinker lips, a darker face, a tail-tuft through adulthood, and parted, longer hair on their heads. Some individuals have sparser, thin hair over parts of their bodies. It is predominantly frugivorous , [ 7 ] compared to the often highly omnivorous diets and hunting of small monkeys , duiker and other antelope exhibited by common chimpanzees. Bonobos inhabit primary and secondary forest , including seasonally inundated swamp forest.
Because of political instability in the region, and the general timidity of bonobos, there has been relatively little field work done observing the species in its natural habitat.
According to studies published in by researchers at The George Washington University , the ancestors of the genus Pan split from the human line about 8 million years ago; moreover, bonobos split from the common chimpanzee line about 2 million years ago. Along with the common chimpanzee , the bonobo is the closest extant relative to humans. Bonobos live south of the river, and thereby were separated from the ancestors of the common chimpanzee, which live north of the river.
There are no concrete figures regarding population, but the estimate is between 29, and 50, individuals. The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is most threatened by habitat destruction , human population growth and movement as well as ongoing civil unrest and political infighting , with commercial poaching being, by far, the most prominent threat. Bonobos typically live 40 years in captivity; their lifespan in the wild is unknown, but it is almost certainly much shorter.
Formerly the bonobo was known as the "pygmy chimpanzee", despite the bonobo having a similar body size to the common chimpanzee. The name "pygmy" was given by the German zoologist Ernst Schwarz in , who classified the species on the basis of a previously mislabeled bonobo cranium, noting its diminutive size compared to chimpanzee skulls. The name "bonobo" first appeared in , when Austrian zoologist Eduard Paul Tratz and German biologist Heinz Heck proposed it as a new and separate generic term for pygmy chimpanzees.
