Compared to the lesser primates, such as monkeys and lemurs, we five "hominid" primates are tailless ... and other aspects. In this family tree, have a look at what sets us and the four other ...

And this list is getting longer. As scientists discover new fossils, the hominid family tree grows new branches. But fossils are often difficult to categorize neatly as one species or another.

Darwin's great insight, and the unifying principle of biology today, is that all species are related to one another like sisters, cousins, and distant kin in a vast family tree of life.

Erin Wayman is a science and human evolution blogger for Hominid Hunting ... species that no longer have a place on the human family tree A longer life expectancy might have allowed members ...