plural bonobos
: a rare anthropoid ape (Pan paniscus) that has a more slender build and longer limbs than the related common chimpanzee (P. troglodytes) and that inhabits a small geographic region in equatorial Africa south of the Congo River
called also pygmy chimpanzee
Examples of bonobo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Today, only gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans remain.
—
Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024
In the years since that encounter, Cartmill and her colleagues have analyzed 75 hours of footage from two zoos of chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas exhibiting similarly impish behavior.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2024
Chimpanzees belong to the Hominidae family, which includes the great apes: gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, and humans.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024
The researchers looked at four populations of apes in three different sites: chimpanzees at Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo, bonobos at Planckendael Zoo in Belgium, and chimps and bonobos at Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023
Another 45 genes underwent this process since humans split off from the ancestors of chimps and bonobos.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 5 Jan. 2023
Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are some of our closest living relatives.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Nov. 2023
The Inquisitive Curiosity of Apes and Infants The researchers presented 29 great apes (15 chimpanzees, 3 gorillas, 6 bonobos and 5 orangutans) with a series of choice experiments.
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 25 July 2023
Louise is a bonobo at Kumamoto Sanctuary who had been transferred there 26 years earlier from the San Diego Zoo.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023
Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024
In the years since that encounter, Cartmill and her colleagues have analyzed 75 hours of footage from two zoos of chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas exhibiting similarly impish behavior.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2024
Chimpanzees belong to the Hominidae family, which includes the great apes: gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, and humans.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024
The researchers looked at four populations of apes in three different sites: chimpanzees at Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo, bonobos at Planckendael Zoo in Belgium, and chimps and bonobos at Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023
Another 45 genes underwent this process since humans split off from the ancestors of chimps and bonobos.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 5 Jan. 2023
Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are some of our closest living relatives.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Nov. 2023
The Inquisitive Curiosity of Apes and Infants The researchers presented 29 great apes (15 chimpanzees, 3 gorillas, 6 bonobos and 5 orangutans) with a series of choice experiments.
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 25 July 2023
Louise is a bonobo at Kumamoto Sanctuary who had been transferred there 26 years earlier from the San Diego Zoo.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Bonobo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bonobo. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
bonobo
noun
bo·no·bo
bə-ˈnō-bō; ˈbä-nə-bō 
-nō-
-nō-
: a rare anthropoid ape of the genus Pan (P. paniscus) that has a more slender build and longer limbs than the related common chimpanzee (P. troglodytes)
called also pygmy chimpanzee
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