What adaptations does a gibbon have?
These acrobatic mammals, endemic to the dense forests of southern Asia, are perfectly adapted to life in the trees and rarely descend to the ground. They have strong, hook-shaped hands for grasping branches, comically outsize arms for reaching faraway limbs, and long, powerful legs for propelling and gasping.
How do white-cheeked gibbons protect themselves?
They defend about three-quarters of their range as their group territory. Defense takes the form of calls from the center of the territory, calls from the boundaries, confrontations across the boundaries, chasing across the boundaries and, rarely, physical contact between males.
What is special about the hands of a white-cheeked gibbon?
These tree-dwellers use a highly specialized mode of locomotion called brachiation—instead of grasping at branches with their fingers, their hands form a loose hook around branches, enabling them to swing through the trees using a hand-over-hand motion.
Are white-cheeked gibbons sexually dimorphic?
They are the longest arms of any primate relative to body size. Males are mostly black with a beard-like white patch around their mouth. Males and females look different (sexual dimorphism). Southern White-cheeked Gibbons are born with a buff coat colour, which changes to black as they mature.
What adaptations for Brachiation do humans have?
Modern humans retain many physical characteristics that suggest a brachiator ancestor, including flexible shoulder joints and fingers well-suited for grasping. In lesser apes, these characteristics were adaptations for brachiation.
Are gibbons stronger than humans?
Their voices are much more powerful 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 catarrhine primates.
How many white-cheeked gibbons are left?
The only known viable population—130 groups totaling about 455 gibbons—was discovered just two years ago and lives in a single park in Vietnam. IUCN Red List status: Critically endangered.
Are white-cheeked gibbons monkeys?
The northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) is a species of gibbon native to South East Asia….
| Northern white-cheeked gibbon | |
|---|---|
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Hylobatidae |
What do white-cheeked gibbons eat?
When they reach adulthood, the males stay black and the females turn back to being white or tan-colored. White-cheeked gibbons are mostly fruit-eaters, but they like leaves and insects, too. They especially like the pulp of fruit. The fruit seeds they don’t digest end up on the forest floor and help re-seed the forest.
Why are gibbons sexually dimorphic?
Gibbons demonstrate little sexual dimorphism based on size. However, several species exhibit sexual dichromatism, the expression of different pelage colors and patterns for males and females.
How many white-cheeked gibbons are left in the world?
The only known viable population—130 groups totaling about 455 gibbons—was discovered just two years ago and lives in a single park in Vietnam. IUCN Red List status: Critically endangered. The total population count for this species is unknown.
