Superfamily Hominoidea

Taxonomy     Behavior

Taxonomy

A. Family Hylobatidae: gibbons (Hylobates) and siamangs (Symphalangus, a subgenus of Hylobates), called "lesser apes"; lack a tail and locomote by brachiation; live in Southeast Asia with the colobines. "Hylobates" means "dweller in the trees", an apt term for the most agile animal known. They can move up to 3 meters in a single brachiation, and can jump 9 meters. All species are endangered.{4048}

Symphalangus syndactylus, the siamang, at right, is the largest.

Hylobates agilis, the dark-handed gibbon, at left.

B. Family Pongidae or great apes: orangutans (Pongo), gorillas (Gorilla), chimpanzees (Pan) have larger brains relative to lower primates and are sexually dimorphic with males larger than females.  Orangutans live only on Borneo and Sumatra. 

There are two species of chimpanzee: Pan troglodytes and Pan paniscus, the bonobo or pygmy chimpanzee.{4048}

C. Family Hominidae: look elsewhere.

Behavior

 The only species that engages in "lethal raiding" apart from humans is Pan. Several individuals make unprovoked aggressive invasions of the range of another group, where they deliberately seem to hunt and kill members of that group. Jane Goodall said that 

"The chimpanzee, as a result of a unique combination of strong affiliative bonds between adult males on the one hand and an unusually hostile and violently aggressive attitude toward nongroup individuals on the other, has clearly reached a stage where he stands at the very threshold of human achievement in destruction, cruelty, and planned intergroup conflict." {4048}

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©1999, Janet Becker Rodgers, DVM, MS, DipACLAM, MRCVS

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Comments? Send an email to janet.rodgers@vet.ox.ac.uk