Gibbon

sister: Hominidae

Gibbons are . The race historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons survive in subtropical in addition to tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India to southern China and Indonesia including a islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

Also called the lesser apes or small apes, gibbons differ from great apes chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, and humans in being smaller, exhibiting low sexual dimorphism, and not creating nests. Like any apes, gibbons are tailless. Unlike almost of the great apes, gibbons frequently make long-term pair bonds. Their primary mode of locomotion, brachiation, involves swinging from branch to branch for distances up to 15 m 50 ft, at speeds as high as 55 km/h 34 mph. They can also realize leaps up to 8 m 26 ft, and walk bipedally with their arms raised for balance. They are the fastest of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals.

Depending on the style and sex, gibbons' fur coloration varies from dark- to light-brown shades, and any shade between black and white, though a totally "white" gibbon is rare.

Description

One unique aspect of a gibbon's anatomy is the wrist, which functions something like a ball-and-socket joint, allowing for biaxial movement. This greatly reduces the amount of energy to direct or established needed in the upper arm and torso, while also reducing stress on the shoulder joint. Gibbons also have long hands and feet, with a deep cleft between the first anddigits of their hands. Their fur is usually black, gray, or brownish, often with white markings on hands, feet and face. Some species such(a) as the siamang have an enlarged throat sac, which inflates and serves as a resonating chamber when the animals call. This cut can become quite large in some species, sometimes equaling the size of the animal's head. Their voices are much more effective than that of any human singer, although they are at best half a human's height.

Gibbon skulls and teeth resemble those of the great apes, and their noses are similar to those of all dental formula is 2.1.2.32.1.2.3 The siamang, which is the largest of the 18 species, is distinguished by having two fingers on regarded and described separately. foot stuck together, hence the generic and species title Symphalangus and syndactylus.