Homosapians harrier than apes?

[123Herpatology]

I didn't know which section to put this in but I heard from a friend that Humans are "harrier than apes." I am convinced that Humans are less hairy than modern apes. I don't know which ape he was implying but there are only 3 that I think he was comparing Humans to; chimpanzee's, gorilla's, and orangutans(sp?). I think the least hairy of these 3 is the chimpanzee, and the gorilla being the most hairy because of it's habitat. And of course I think it depends on the definition of hair. Does he mean hair growth, density, or length? And also I think it would depend on the individual human. What do you guys think? Is there any evidence that could support the idea that man is harrier than apes?

[kotoreru]

By conventional thought, Homo sapiens is not hairer than any of the Great Apes. The only thing I can think of is a mutant condition called hypertrichosis whereby the subject will have particularly thick and long hair on the face and other parts of the body. I believe the number of hair follicles in humans is actually not far off that of the Great Apes; it is just the length and thickness of each hair that varies between species.

As always, I could be wrong.

Hope that helps.

[mith]

bonobos?

[MrMistery]

what is that?

[leaping badger]

i was under the impression we are homo sapien sapien anyway

and a bonobo is a type of ape that is very closely related to humans (well compared to other species) they are known to walk on their hind legs like us, however this is mainly observed in captivity and they may just be copying their keepers

[kotoreru]

Homo sapiens sapiens, yes. The sub-species is argued because of the extinct Homo sapiens idaltu. The wikipedia article is one place to start on this subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sapiens_idaltu