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|  Prosimians | Old World Monkeys | New World Monkeys | Lesser Apes | Great Apes The Great Apes Found only in Africa and Asia, the great apes -- orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos -- were once classified in the family Pongidae, but have now been placed in the family Hominidae, which includes humans. Having evolved from a common ancestor approximately five to seven million years ago, great apes and humans are genetically similar, with the majority of the scientific community considering chimpanzees and bonobos to be our closest living relatives, sharing a remarkable 98.7 % of our DNA. The largest living primates, great apes do not possess tails, have short, shaggy coarse hair, a naked face and opposable thumbs. Unlike humans, the arms are longer than the legs and the big toe is also opposable, allowing objects to be grasped by both the hands and feet. All genera spend time both in the trees and on the ground, with the exception of the orangutan who is primarily arboreal. Chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos walk quadrupedaly, using all four limbs to support their weight, but are capable of bipedal locomotion. Considered intelligent, by human standards, great apes show a remarkable capacity for learning, have complex social systems and are extremely similar to humans in their reproductive biology, all having prolonged maternal care of their infants. All great apes have a wide range of vocalizations, communicative postures and facial expressions, and each species have been successfully taught to use some form of sign language in laboratory settings. Adults are generally proficient at using a variety of tools for both feeding and charging displays, including, fly whisks, leaf sponges, whips, twig probes, branches and stones. Learning to utilize tools requires years of observation and practice and tool use is considerably different not only from specie to specie but also from population to population. The most striking example of this "culture" occurs in chimpanzees. Great apes unfortunately face an uncertain future. Considerable threat from extensive logging, conversion to farmland, and other forms of human encroachment, are making it increasingly difficult for dwindling populations to recover. Hunters target apes to sell as food for the bushmeat trade and to supply the demand for pets in illegal wildlife trafficking. It is predicted that under current levels of exploitation most primates will be extinct within three decades. Even natural parks and protected areas are not always safe from the burdens of hunting and habitat destruction. If the great apes are to survive it is imperative that conservation efforts continue full-fledged throughout Africa and Asia. Below is information on the great ape taxonomic groups: Orangutan Genus: Pongo Taxonomy: 2 species, 1 subspecies Distribution: Indonesia and Malaysia Size: Head-body length: 78-97cm Height: 115-137cm Weight: 88-200lb Appearance: Reddish brown hairy coat that is shaggy and coarse, high forehead, adult males have cheek pads, long arms which can be 2.25 m long Habitat: Lowland and hilly tropical rain forest Diet: Fruit, leaves, bark, flowers, insects, occasionally bird eggs and small vertebrates Locomotion: Primarily arboreal, rarely come to the forest floor, use grasping hands and feet to slowly move through the trees Behavior: Solitary, reproduce slowly, long life span, diurnal, not territorial, make nests at night Gorilla Genus: Gorilla Taxonomy: 2 species, 2 subspecies Distribution: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Rwanda, and Uganda Size: Height: up to 180cm Weight: 200-400lb Appearance: Short muzzle, stocky body, small eyes, large nostrils, large hands, the coat is typically black or brown gray depending on the species, mature males have a silver colored back Habitat: Swamp, montane, and secondary tropical forest Diet: Almost completely vegetarian, eat leaves, shoots and stems, wood, roots, flowers, fruits and grubs Locomotion: Terrestrial and quadrupedal, walk on the soles of hind limbs and knuckles of fore limbs Behavior: Groups of five to thirty individuals, typical group has one dominant "silverback" male, one or two sub-adult males, six adult females, and ten infants or juveniles, long life span, diurnal, not territorial, make nests at night Chimpanzee Genus: Pan Taxonomy: 1 species, 3 subspecies Range: Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Togo, Senegal, Mali, Liberia, and Guinea Size: Head-body length: 70-92cm Height: 1-1.7m Weight: 66-88lb Appearance: Black coat, naked face with a distinct brow and often a short white beard, prominent ears, protrusive lips, infants have a pink to brown face that usually darkens with age and also possess a white tail tuft Habitat: Humid forest, deciduous woodland and mixed savanna Diet: Fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, birds, ants, termites, wasps, mammals including: other primates, bushbuck, bush-pigs, duikers, rodents and hyraxes Locomotion: Terrestrial, quadrupedal "knuckle-walking" Behavior: Groups of 15 to 150 individuals form male-bonded fission-fusion societies, within communities smaller subgroups are formed, diurnal, make nests at night, use variety of tools, feed and sleep in trees, long life spanBonobo Genus: Pan Taxonomy: 1 species, no subspecies Distribution: Democratic Republic of Congo Size: Head-body length: 70-83cm Weight: 68-86lb Appearance: Narrower chest, more slender build and longer limbs than chimpanzees, pelage and face are black, adults and infants have white tail tuft, hair appears to be parted on top of head Habitat: Humid forest Diet: Fruit, leaves, seeds, honey, ants, reptiles, worms, squirrels, duikers and other animal prey Locomotion: knuckle walkers like gorillas and chimpanzees, arboreal and terrestrial Behavior: fission-fusion communities similar to chimpanzees, although female-bonded, diurnal, make nests, long life span, engage in sexual behavior for social reasons and not only for reproduction Back to Primate Groupings | ||||||||||||||
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