Gibbon

Gibbon
/gib"euhn/, n.
Edward, 1737-94, English historian.

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I
Any of about six species (genus Hylobates) of lesser apes (family Hylobatidae), found in Indo-Malayan forests.

Gibbons use their long arms to swing from branch to branch. They walk erect on the ground, live in small groups, and feed on shoots and fruits, as well as on some insects, birds' eggs, and young birds. They have long hair and are about 16–26 in. (40–65 cm) long. Their coats vary from tan or silvery to brown or black. They have large canine teeth, and their voices are noted for their volume, musical quality, and carrying power.

Gibbons (genus Hylobates).

Edmund Appel/Photo Researchers
II
(as used in expressions)
Gibbon Edward
Wakefield Edward Gibbon
Gibbons Orlando

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 any of a dozen or so species of small apes (ape) found in the tropical forests (tropical rainforest) of Southeast Asia. Gibbons, like the great apes (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos), have a humanlike build and no tail, but gibbons seem to lack higher cognitive abilities and self-awareness. They also differ from great apes in having longer arms, dense hair, and a throat sac used for amplifying sound. Gibbon voices are loud, are musical in tone, and carry over long distances. The most characteristic vocalization is the “great call,” usually a duet in which the female leads and the male joins in with less-complex notes, used as a territorial marker by both sexes.

 Gibbons are arboreal and move from branch to branch with speed and great agility by swinging from their arms (brachiating). On the ground, gibbons walk erect with the arms held aloft or behind. They are active during the day and live in small monogamous groups that defend territories in the treetops. They feed mainly on fruit, with varying proportions of leaves and with some insects and bird eggs as well as young birds. Single offspring are born after about seven months' gestation and take seven years to mature.

      Most gibbon species are about 40–65 cm (16–26 inches) in head and body length, but the siamang (Hylobates syndactylus) can grow up to 90 cm. The smaller species (both sexes) weigh about 5.5 kg (12 pounds); others, such the concolor gibbon, weigh about 7.5 kg. The female siamang weighs 10.5 kg and the male 12 kg; the siamang is the only gibbon with a significant size difference between the sexes. The various species of gibbons can be divided into four groups; molecular data indicate that the four groups are as different from one another as chimpanzees are from humans and thus should probably be classified as four genera.

      The lars, a group of six or seven species, are the smallest and have the densest body hair. The dark-handed gibbon (H. agilis), which lives on Sumatra south of Lake Toba and on the Malay Peninsula between the Perak and Mudah rivers, may be either tan or black and has white facial markings. The white-handed gibbon (H. lar), of northern Sumatra and most of the Malay Peninsula northward through Thailand into Yunnan, China, is similar but has white extremities. The pileated gibbon (H. pileatus), of southeastern Thailand and western Cambodia, has white hands and feet; the male is black and the female buff with a black cap and chest patch. The difference in colour comes about with age; the juveniles are buff and both sexes darken with age, but the male does so much more rapidly. Kloss's gibbon (H. klossii), from the Mentawai Islands west of Sumatra, is completely black throughout its life. The sexes look alike in the silvery gibbon (H. moloch) of Java and in the white-bearded (H. albibarbis) and Müller's (H. muelleri) gibbons, both from different parts of Borneo.

      In the concolor group both sexes are black as juveniles, but the females lighten to buff with maturity, so that the two sexes look quite different as adults. The males have an upstanding tuft of hair on top of the head and a small inflatable throat sac. All species live east of the Mekong River. The black crested gibbon (H. concolor) is found from southern China into northernmost Vietnam and Laos; the northern concolor (H. leucogenys) and southern concolor (H. siki) gibbons are found farther south, and the red-cheeked gibbon (H. gabriellae) lives in southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia.

 The remaining two groups each contain a single species. The hoolock gibbon (H. hoolock) is found from Burma west of the Salween River into Assam, India, and Bangladesh; adult males are black and females are brown, with colour changes similar to those seen in the concolor group. Both sexes have throat sacs and much harsher voices than those of the lar and concolor groups. The large and entirely black siamang is found alongside white- and dark-handed gibbons on the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Both sexes have a large throat sac, and their vocal repertoire includes a very harsh shrieking and booming call. The male has a prominent tassel of hair on the front of the lower abdomen.

      Gibbons are still widely distributed in the rainforests (rainforest) and monsoon forests (monsoon forest) of Southeast Asia, but they are more and more under threat as their forest habitat is destroyed. They are sometimes hunted for food, but more often they are killed for their supposed medicinal properties; their long arm bones are especially prized.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Gibbon — bezeichnet: ein Mitglied der Primatenfamilie der Gibbons die Gibbon Fälle, einen Wasserfall im Yellowstone Nationalpark, Wyoming, USA Gibbon ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Edward Gibbon (1737–1794), britischer Historiker John Gibbon… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • gibbon — [ ʒibɔ̃ ] n. m. • 1766; o. i., p. ê. d un dial. de l Inde ♦ Singe des forêts tropicales d Asie, sans queue et à longs bras, le plus petit des anthropoïdes. ● gibbon nom masculin (anglais gibbon, d un dialecte de l Inde) Singe anthropomorphe de l… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • GIBBON (E.) — GIBBON EDWARD (1737 1794) Issu d’une famille aisée, Edward Gibbon perd sa mère en 1747 et est confié aux soins d’une tante qui se charge de son éducation. Sa jeunesse, maladive, difficile, est tout entière consacrée à la lecture, et sa vocation… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Gibbon — Gibbon, NE U.S. city in Nebraska Population (2000): 1759 Housing Units (2000): 668 Land area (2000): 0.838856 sq. miles (2.172628 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.838856 sq. miles (2.172628 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Gibbon — Gib bon, n. [Cf. F. gibbon.] (Zo[ o]l.) Any arboreal ape of the genus {Hylobates}, of which many species and varieties inhabit the East Indies and Southern Asia. They are tailless and without cheek pouches, and have very long arms, adapted for… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gibbon, MN — U.S. city in Minnesota Population (2000): 808 Housing Units (2000): 378 Land area (2000): 0.887940 sq. miles (2.299753 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.887940 sq. miles (2.299753 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Gibbon, NE — U.S. city in Nebraska Population (2000): 1759 Housing Units (2000): 668 Land area (2000): 0.838856 sq. miles (2.172628 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.838856 sq. miles (2.172628 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • gibbon — 1770, from Fr. gibbon (18c.), supposedly from a word in the French colonies of India but not found in any language there. Brought to Europe by Marquis Joseph François Dupleix (1697 1763), French governor general in India 1742 54. The surname is O …   Etymology dictionary

  • Gibbon [1] — Gibbon, so v.w. Armasse …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Gibbon [2] — Gibbon (spr. Gibbn), Edward, einer der bedeutendsten englischen Geschichtsschreiber, geb. 27. April 1737 zu Putney in Surreyshire; trat 1752 in Oxford zur Katholischen Kirche, aber in Lausanne wieder zur Reformirten über, war 1766–1783 mehrmals… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Gibbon [1] — Gibbon (von Buffon nach dem englischen Historiker G. benannt, Hylobates Ill.), Gattung der Anthropomorphen, ziemlich große Affen in Ostindien, Hinterindien und auf den Inseln, mit schlankem Körper, ohne Schwanz, kleinem, rundem Schädel, stark… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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