The Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan diverged about 400,000 years ago, with a continued low level of gene flow between them since then.
The two orangutan species were considered merely subspecies until 1996; they were elevated to species following sequencing of their mitochondrial DNA.

The Bornean orangutan has three subspecies:
Northwest Bornean orangutan P. p. pygmaeus – Sarawak (Malaysia) & northern West Kalimantan (Indonesia)
Central Bornean orangutan P. p. wurmbii – Southern West Kalimantan & Central Kalimantan (Indonesia)
Northeast Bornean orangutan P. p. morio – East Kalimantan (Indonesia) & Sabah (Malaysia)
There is some uncertainty about this, however.
The population currently listed as P. p. wurmbii may be closer to the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii) than to the Bornean orangutan.
If this is confirmed, P. abelii would be a subspecies of P. wurmbii (Tiedeman, 1808).
In addition, the type locality of P. pygmaeus has not been established beyond doubt; it may be from the population currently listed as P. wurmbii (in which case P. wurmbii would be a junior synonym of P. pygmaeus, while one of the names currently considered a junior synonym of P. pygmaeus would take precedence for the taxon in Sarawak and northern West Kalimantan).
Bradon-Jones et al.
considered P. morio to be a synonym of P. pygmaeus, and the population found in East Kalimantan and Sabah to be a potentially unnamed separate taxon.

In early October 2014, researchers from domestic and foreign countries found about 50 orangutans in several groups in South Kalimantan Province, although previously there is no record that the province has orangutans.

As a member of the family Hominidae, Bornean orangutans are one of the closest extant relatives to Homo sapiens.

This species was originally discovered by native Malaysians.
There are several mentions of orangutans in Malaysian folklore.
However, this species was originally named and described by the notable zoologist Carl Linneus in 1799.
Its original name was Simia satyrus, meaning "satyr monkey", but was changed when scientists discovered that not all orangutans are one species.
The holotype of this organism is located in the British Museum in London.

The current species name P. pygmaeus is not Latin unlike most other Linnean classifications.
The genus name Pongo is derived from the Bantu word mpongo used to indicate a large primate.
It was originally used to describe chimpanzees in Western African dialects.
The species name pygmaeus is derived from the Greek word "pygmy" meaning dwarf.
The Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan diverged about 400,000 years ago, with a continued low level of gene flow between them since then. The two orangutan species were considered merely subspecies until 1996; they were elevated to species following sequencing of their mitochondrial DNA.
The Bornean orangutan has three subspecies:
Northwest Bornean orangutan P. p. pygmaeus – Sarawak (Malaysia) & northern West Kalimantan (Indonesia)
Central Bornean orangutan P. p. wurmbii – Southern West Kalimantan & Central Kalimantan (Indonesia)
Northeast Bornean orangutan P. p. morio – East Kalimantan (Indonesia) & Sabah (Malaysia)
There is some uncertainty about this, however. The population currently listed as P. p. wurmbii may be closer to the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii) than to the Bornean orangutan. If this is confirmed, P. abelii would be a subspecies of P. wurmbii (Tiedeman, 1808). In addition, the type locality of P. pygmaeus has not been established beyond doubt; it may be from the population currently listed as P. wurmbii (in which case P. wurmbii would be a junior synonym of P. pygmaeus, while one of the names currently considered a junior synonym of P. pygmaeus would take precedence for the taxon in Sarawak and northern West Kalimantan). Bradon-Jones et al. considered P. morio to be a synonym of P. pygmaeus, and the population found in East Kalimantan and Sabah to be a potentially unnamed separate taxon.
In early October 2014, researchers from domestic and foreign countries found about 50 orangutans in several groups in South Kalimantan Province, although previously there is no record that the province has orangutans.
As a member of the family Hominidae, Bornean orangutans are one of the closest extant relatives to Homo sapiens.
This species was originally discovered by native Malaysians. There are several mentions of orangutans in Malaysian folklore. However, this species was originally named and described by the notable zoologist Carl Linneus in 1799. Its original name was Simia satyrus, meaning "satyr monkey", but was changed when scientists discovered that not all orangutans are one species. The holotype of this organism is located in the British Museum in London.
The current species name P. pygmaeus is not Latin unlike most other Linnean classifications. The genus name Pongo is derived from the Bantu word mpongo used to indicate a large primate. It was originally used to describe chimpanzees in Western African dialects. The species name pygmaeus is derived from the Greek word "pygmy" meaning dwarf.
Bornean orangutan