Eastern gorilla
Grauer's gorillas and mountain gorillas were previously thought to be two of the three subspecies of one single species, the gorilla ("Gorilla gorilla"). However, genetic research has shown that the two eastern subspecies are far more closely related than the western subspecies: the western lowland gorilla ("G. gorilla gorilla"), which justified the separate classification. The two eastern subspecies are now classified as "G. beringei".
Orangutan
The three orangutan species are the only extant members of the subfamily Ponginae. This subfamily also included the extinct genera "Lufengpithecus", which lived in southern China and Thailand 2–8 mya, and "Sivapithecus", which lived India and Pakistan from 12.5 mya until 8.5 mya. These apes likely lived in drier and cooler environments than orangutans do today. "Khoratpithecus piriyai", which lived in Thailand 5–7 mya, is believed to have been the closest known relative of the orangutans. The largest known primate, "Gigantopithecus", was also a member of Ponginae and lived in China, India and Vietnam from 5 mya to 100,000 years ago.