bəˈnōbō; ˈbänəbō, -nō- noun
( -s )
Etymology: perhaps from Mongo or Ngando (Bantu languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
: a rare anthropoid ape ( Pan paniscus ) of the family Pongidae 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