What is the scientific name for the common chimpanzee?

The scientific name for the common chimpanzee is Pan troglodytes.

The name places the chimpanzee in the genus Pan, which it shares with its close relative, the bonobo (Pan paniscus). The species name troglodytes comes from the Greek-influenced name Troglodytae, associated with a mythical race of cave-dwellers. German naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach formally described the species in 1775.

Common chimpanzees are great apes, not monkeys, and are native to forests and savannas across tropical Africa. Their closest living relatives are bonobos, followed by humans and other great apes. The word “common” distinguishes this species from the bonobo, which was once called the pygmy chimpanzee.

A frequent mix-up is confusing Pan troglodytes with Pongo pygmaeus, the scientific name of the Bornean orangutan, or Gorilla gorilla, the western gorilla. Chimpanzees are endangered and are recognized as four confirmed subspecies.