Ape years ago (Mya) the clades diverged into newer clades. The lesser apes are the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, of sixteen species; all are native to Asia. Their major differentiating characteristic is their long arms, which they use to brachiate through trees. Their wrists are ball and socket joints as an evolutionary adaptation to their arboreal lifestyle. Generally smaller than the African apes, the largest gibbon, the siamang, weighs up to ; in comparison, the smallest "great ape", the bonobo, is . Formerly, all the great apes except humans were classified as the family Pongidae, which conveniently provided for separating the human
The Hairy Ape showing “excessive use of monologues, the confusion or slowness of certain scenes, and the depressing monotony which follows all the pathetic ‘moments.’” O’Neill has been criticized for the play’s issues with social class and racial fabrications. However, he was also praised for his “emotional and dramatic forcefulness of his writing" in The Hairy Ape. He was well known for handling these challenging ideas and thought-provoking plays. The play was admired for its originality and robustness, which only The Hairy Ape and All God’s Chillen were stated for. Contradictory to that statement, other critics find the end of The Hairy Ape