Jump to content

Gorilla

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SpaceMusk (talk | contribs) at 15:08, 8 March 2019 (Conservation status: new picture). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Gorillas[1]
Western gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Gorillini
Genus: Gorilla
I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1852
Type species
Troglodytes gorilla
Savage, 1847
Species

Gorilla gorilla
Gorilla beringei

Distribution of gorillas
Synonyms
  • Pseudogorilla Elliot, 1913

Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.

Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forests in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.[2]

Etymology

The word "gorilla" comes from the history of Hanno the Navigator, (c. 500 BC) a Carthaginian explorer on an expedition on the west African coast to the area that later became Sierra Leone.[3] Members of the expedition encountered "savage people, the greater part of whom were women, whose bodies were hairy, and whom our interpreters called Gorillae".[4] The word was then later used as the species name, though it is unknown whether what these ancient Carthaginians encountered were truly gorillas, another species of ape or monkeys, or humans.[5]

The American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage and naturalist Jeffries Wyman first described the western gorilla (they called it Troglodytes gorilla) in 1847 from specimens obtained in Liberia.[6] The name was derived from Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (gorillai) 'tribe of hairy women',[7] described by Hanno.

Evolution and classification

The closest relatives of gorillas are the other two Homininae genera, chimpanzees and humans, all of them having diverged from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago.[8] Human gene sequences differ only 1.6% on average from the sequences of corresponding gorilla genes, but there is further difference in how many copies each gene has.[9] Until recently, gorillas were considered to be a single species, with three subspecies: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla.[5][10] There is now agreement that there are two species, each with two subspecies. More recently, a third subspecies has been claimed to exist in one of the species. The separate species and subspecies developed from a single type of gorilla during the Ice Age, when their forest habitats shrank and became isolated from each other.[2]

Primatologists continue to explore the relationships between various gorilla populations.[5] The species and subspecies listed here are the ones upon which most scientists agree.[citation needed]

Taxonomy of genus Gorilla[1] Phylogeny of superfamily Hominoidea[11]: Fig. 4 
 Hominoidea

humans (genus Homo)

chimpanzees (genus Pan)

gorillas (genus Gorilla)

orangutans (genus Pongo)

gibbons (family Hylobatidae)

The proposed third subspecies of Gorilla beringei, which has not yet received a trinomen, is the Bwindi population of the mountain gorilla, sometimes called the Bwindi gorilla.

Some variations that distinguish the classifications of gorilla include varying density, size, hair colour, length, culture, and facial widths.[2] Population genetics of the lowland gorillas suggest that the western and eastern lowland populations diverged ~261 thousand years ago.[12]

Physical characteristics

Male gorilla skull

Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk bipedally for short distances while carrying food or in defensive situations,[13] and some Mountain Gorillas use other parts of their hand to aid locomotion (studies of 77 Mountain Gorillas published in 2018 showed 61% only used knuckle walking, but the remainder used knuckle walking plus other parts of their hand—fist walking in ways that do not use the knuckles, using the backs of their hand, and using their palms).[14] Wild male gorillas weigh 136 to 195 kg (300 to 430 lb), while adult females usually weigh about half as much as adult males at 68–113 kg (150–250 lb).

Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei)

Adult males are 1.4 to 1.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 5 ft 11 in) tall, with an arm span that stretches from 2.3 to 2.6 m (7 ft 7 in to 8 ft 6 in). Female gorillas are shorter at 1.25 to 1.5 m (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 11 in), with smaller arm spans.[15][16][17][18][19] Groves (1970) calculates that average weight of the 47 wild adult male gorillas is 143 kg, while Smith and Jungers(1997) found that the average weight of the 19 wild adult male gorillas is 169 kg.[20] Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks due to the characteristic silver hair on their backs reaching to the hips. The tallest gorilla recorded was a 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) silverback with an arm span of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in), a chest of 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in), and a weight of 219 kg (483 lb), shot in Alimbongo, northern Kivu in May 1938.[19] The heaviest gorilla recorded was a 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) silverback shot in Ambam, Cameroon, which weighed 267 kg (589 lb).[19] Males in captivity are noted to be capable of reaching weights up to 310 kg (683 lb).[19] Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.

The eastern gorilla is more darkly coloured than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forests are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla.[21]

Studies have shown gorilla blood is not reactive to anti-A and anti-B monoclonal antibodies, which would, in humans, indicate type O blood. Due to novel sequences, though, it is different enough to not conform with the human ABO blood group system, into which the other great apes fit.[22] Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints.[23][24] Their eye colour is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris.

Distribution and habitat

Young gorilla climbing

Gorillas have a patchy distribution. The range of the two species is separated by the Congo River and its tributaries. The western gorilla lives in west central Africa, while the eastern gorilla lives in east central Africa. Between the species, and even within the species, gorillas live in a variety of habitats and elevations. Gorilla habitat ranges from montane forests to swamps. Eastern gorillas inhabit montane and submontane forests between 650 and 4,000 m (2,130 and 13,120 ft) above sea level.[25] Mountain gorillas live in the montane forests at the higher ends of the elevation range, while eastern lowland gorillas live in submontane forests at the lower ends of the elevation range. In addition, eastern lowland gorillas live in montane bamboo forests, as well as lowland forests ranging from 600–3,308 m (1,969–10,853 ft) in elevation.[26] Western gorillas live in both lowland swamp forests and montane forests, and elevations ranging from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft).[25] Western lowland gorillas live in swamp and lowland forests ranging up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft), and Cross River gorillas live in low-lying and submontane forests ranging from 150–1,600 m (490–5,250 ft).

Nesting

Gorilla night nest constructed in a tree

Gorillas construct nests for daytime and night use. Nests tend to be simple aggregations of branches and leaves about 2 to 5 ft (0.61 to 1.52 m) in diameter and are constructed by individuals. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees or orangutans, tend to sleep in nests on the ground. The young nest with their mothers, but construct nests after three years of age, initially close to those of their mothers.[27] Gorilla nests are distributed arbitrarily and use of tree species for site and construction appears to be opportunistic.[28] Nest-building by great apes is now considered to be not just animal architecture, but as an important instance of tool use.[28]

Food and foraging

A gorilla's day is divided between rest periods and travel or feeding periods. Diets differ between and within species. Mountain gorillas mostly eat foliage, such as leaves, stems, pith, and shoots, while fruit makes up a very small part of their diets.[29] Mountain gorilla food is widely distributed and neither individuals nor groups have to compete with one another. Their home ranges average 3–15 km2 (1.16–5.79 mi2), and their movements range around 500 m (0.31 mi) or less on an average day.[29] Despite eating a few species in each habitat, mountain gorillas have flexible diets and can live in a variety of habitats.[29]

Gorillas moving in habitat
Gorilla foraging

Eastern lowland gorillas have more diverse diets, which vary seasonally. Leaves and pith are commonly eaten, but fruits can make up as much as 25% of their diets. Since fruit is less available, lowland gorillas must travel farther each day, and their home ranges vary from 2.7–6.5 km2 (1.04 to 2.51 mi2), with day ranges 154–2,280 m (0.096–1.417 mi). Eastern lowland gorillas will also eat insects, preferably ants.[30] Western lowland gorillas depend on fruits more than the others and they are more dispersed across their range.[31] They travel even farther than the other gorilla subspecies, at 1,105 m (0.687 mi) per day on average, and have larger home ranges of 7–14 km2 (2.70–5.41 mi2).[31] Western lowland gorillas have less access to terrestrial herbs, although they can access aquatic herbs in some areas. Termites and ants are also eaten.

Gorillas rarely drink water "because they consume succulent vegetation that is comprised of almost half water as well as morning dew",[32] although both mountain and lowland gorillas have been observed drinking.

Behaviour

Social structure

Mountain gorilla family

Gorillas live in groups called troops. Troops tend to be made of one adult male or silverback, multiple adult females and their offspring.[33][34][35] However, multiple-male troops also exist.[34] A silverback is typically more than 12 years of age, and is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back, which comes with maturity. Silverbacks also have large canine teeth that also come with maturity. Both males and females tend to emigrate from their natal groups. For mountain gorillas, females disperse from their natal troops more than males.[33][36] Mountain gorillas and western lowland gorillas also commonly transfer to second new groups.[33]

Mature males also tend to leave their groups and establish their own troops by attracting emigrating females. However, male mountain gorillas sometimes stay in their natal troops and become subordinate to the silverback. If the silverback dies, these males may be able to become dominant or mate with the females. This behaviour has not been observed in eastern lowland gorillas. In a single male group, when the silverback dies, the females and their offspring disperse and find a new troop.[36][37] Without a silverback to protect them, the infants will likely fall victim to infanticide. Joining a new group is likely to be a tactic against this.[36][38] However, while gorilla troops usually disband after the silverback dies, female eastern lowlands gorillas and their offspring have been recorded staying together until a new silverback transfers into the group. This likely serves as protection from leopards.[37]

Silverback gorilla

The silverback is the center of the troop's attention, making all the decisions, mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others to feeding sites, and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop. Younger males subordinate to the silverback, known as blackbacks, may serve as backup protection. Blackbacks are aged between 8 and 12 years[35] and lack the silver back hair. The bond that a silverback has with his females forms the core of gorilla social life. Bonds between them are maintained by grooming and staying close together.[39] Females form strong relationships with males to gain mating opportunities and protection from predators and infanticidal outside males.[40] However, aggressive behaviours between males and females do occur, but rarely lead to serious injury. Relationships between females may vary. Maternally related females in a troop tend to be friendly towards each other and associate closely. Otherwise, females have few friendly encounters and commonly act aggressively towards each other.[33]

Females may fight for social access to males and a male may intervene.[39] Male gorillas have weak social bonds, particularly in multiple-male groups with apparent dominance hierarchies and strong competition for mates. Males in all-male groups, though, tend to have friendly interactions and socialise through play, grooming, and staying together,[35] and occasionally they even engage in homosexual interactions.[41] Severe aggression is rare in stable groups, but when two mountain gorilla groups meet, the two silverbacks can sometimes engage in a fight to the death, using their canines to cause deep, gaping injuries.[42]

Competition

One possible predator of gorillas is the leopard. Gorilla remains have been found in leopard scat, but this may be the result of scavenging.[43] When the group is attacked by humans, leopards, or other gorillas, an individual silverback will protect the group, even at the cost of his own life.[44]

Reproduction and parenting

Young gorilla riding on mother

Females mature at 10–12 years (earlier in captivity), and males at 11–13 years. A female’s first ovulatory cycle occurs when she is six years of age, and is followed by a two-year period of adolescent infertility.[45] The estrous cycle lasts 30–33 days, with outward ovulation signs subtle compared to those of chimpanzees. The gestation period lasts 8.5 months. Female mountain gorillas first give birth at 10 years of age and have four-year interbirth intervals.[45] Males can be fertile before reaching adulthood. Gorillas mate year round.[46]

Females will purse their lips and slowly approach a male while making eye contact. This serves to urge the male to mount her. If the male does not respond, then she will try to attract his attention by reaching towards him or slapping the ground.[47] In multiple-male groups, solicitation indicates female preference, but females can be forced to mate with multiple males.[47] Males incite copulation by approaching a female and displaying at her or touching her and giving a "train grunt".[46] Recently, gorillas have been observed engaging in face-to-face sex, a trait once considered unique to humans and bonobos.[48]

Mother gorilla with 10-day-old infant

Gorilla infants are vulnerable and dependent, thus mothers, their primary caregivers, are important to their survival.[38] Male gorillas are not active in caring for the young, but they do play a role in socialising them to other youngsters.[49] The silverback has a largely supportive relationship with the infants in his troop and shields them from aggression within the group.[49] Infants remain in contact with their mothers for the first five months and mothers stay near the silverback for protection.[49] Infants suckle at least once per hour and sleep with their mothers in the same nest.[50]

Infants begin to break contact with their mothers after five months, but only for a brief period each time. By 12 months old, infants move up to five meters (16 feet) from their mothers. At around 18–21 months, the distance between mother and offspring increases and they regularly spend time away from each other.[51] In addition, nursing decreases to once every two hours.[50] Infants spend only half of their time with their mothers by 30 months. They enter their juvenile period at their third year, and this lasts until their sixth year. At this time, gorillas are weaned and they sleep in a separate nest from their mothers.[49] After their offspring are weaned, females begin to ovulate and soon become pregnant again.[49][50] The presence of play partners, including the silverback, minimizes conflicts in weaning between mother and offspring.[51]

Communication

Twenty-five distinct vocalisations are recognised, many of which are used primarily for group communication within dense vegetation. Sounds classified as grunts and barks are heard most frequently while traveling, and indicate the whereabouts of individual group members.[52] They may also be used during social interactions when discipline is required. Screams and roars signal alarm or warning, and are produced most often by silverbacks. Deep, rumbling belches suggest contentment and are heard frequently during feeding and resting periods. They are the most common form of intragroup communication.[42]

For this reason, conflicts are most often resolved by displays and other threat behaviours that are intended to intimidate without becoming physical. The ritualized charge display is unique to gorillas. The entire sequence has nine steps: (1) progressively quickening hooting, (2) symbolic feeding, (3) rising bipedally, (4) throwing vegetation, (5) chest-beating with cupped hands, (6) one leg kick, (7) sideways running, two-legged to four-legged, (8) slapping and tearing vegetation, and (9) thumping the ground with palms to end display.[53]

Lifespan

A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was the oldest known gorilla, at 60 years of age when she died on January 17, 2017.[54]

Intelligence

A female gorilla exhibiting tool use by using a tree trunk as a support whilst fishing herbs

Gorillas are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko, have been taught a subset of sign language. Like the other great apes, gorillas can laugh, grieve, have "rich emotional lives", develop strong family bonds, make and use tools, and think about the past and future.[55] Some researchers believe gorillas have spiritual feelings or religious sentiments.[2] They have been shown to have cultures in different areas revolving around different methods of food preparation, and will show individual colour preferences.[2]

Tool use

The following observations were made by a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society in September 2005. Gorillas are now known to use tools in the wild. A female gorilla in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo was recorded using a stick as if to gauge the depth of water whilst crossing a swamp. A second female was seen using a tree stump as a bridge and also as a support whilst fishing in the swamp. This means all of the great apes are now known to use tools.[56]

In September 2005, a two-and-a-half-year-old gorilla in the Republic of Congo was discovered using rocks to smash open palm nuts inside a game sanctuary.[57] While this was the first such observation for a gorilla, over 40 years previously, chimpanzees had been seen using tools in the wild 'fishing' for termites. Great apes are endowed with semiprecision grips, and have been able to use both simple tools and even weapons, by improvising a club from a convenient fallen branch, for example.

Scientific study

American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage obtained the first specimens (the skull and other bones) during his time in Liberia.[6] The first scientific description of gorillas dates back to an article by Savage and the naturalist Jeffries Wyman in 1847 in Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History,[58][59] where Troglodytes gorilla is described, now known as the western gorilla. Other species of gorilla were described in the next few years.[5]

Drawing of French explorer Paul Du Chaillu at close quarters with a gorilla

The explorer Paul Du Chaillu was the first westerner to see a live gorilla during his travel through western equatorial Africa from 1856 to 1859. He brought dead specimens to the UK in 1861.[60][61][62]

The first systematic study was not conducted until the 1920s, when Carl Akeley of the American Museum of Natural History traveled to Africa to hunt for an animal to be shot and stuffed. On his first trip, he was accompanied by his friends Mary Bradley, a mystery writer, her husband, and their young daughter Alice, who would later write science fiction under the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr. After their trip, Mary Bradley wrote On the Gorilla Trail. She later became an advocate for the conservation of gorillas, and wrote several more books (mainly for children). In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Robert Yerkes and his wife Ava helped further the study of gorillas when they sent Harold Bigham to Africa. Yerkes also wrote a book in 1929 about the great apes.

After World War II, George Schaller was one of the first researchers to go into the field and study primates. In 1959, he conducted a systematic study of the mountain gorilla in the wild and published his work. Years later, at the behest of Louis Leakey and the National Geographic, Dian Fossey conducted a much longer and more comprehensive study of the mountain gorilla. When she published her work, many misconceptions and myths about gorillas were finally disproved, including the myth that gorillas are violent.

Western lowland gorillas (G. g. gorilla) are believed to be one of the zoonotic origins of HIV/AIDS. The SIVgor Simian immunodeficiency virus that infects them is similar to a certain strain of HIV-1.[63][64][65][66]

Genome sequencing

The gorilla became the next-to-last great ape genus to have its genome sequenced. The first gorilla genome was generated with short read and Sanger sequencing using DNA from a female western lowland gorilla named Kamilah. This gave scientists further insight into the evolution and origin of humans. Despite the chimpanzees being the closest extant relatives of humans, 15% of the human genome was found to be more like that of the gorilla.[67] In addition, 30% of the gorilla genome "is closer to human or chimpanzee than the latter are to each other; this is rarer around coding genes, indicating pervasive selection throughout great ape evolution, and has functional consequences in gene expression."[68] Analysis of the gorilla genome has cast doubt on the idea that the rapid evolution of hearing genes gave rise to language in humans, as it also occurred in gorillas.[69]

Cultural references

Since coming to the attention of western society in the 1860s,[62] gorillas have been a recurring element of many aspects of popular culture and media. Pulp fiction, such as Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian, has featured gorillas as physical opponents of the titular protagonists.

Conservation status

Eastern Lowland Gorilla ZOO Antwerp

All species (and sub-species) of gorilla are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.[70] Now, over 100,000 western lowland gorillas are thought to exist in the wild, with 4,000 in zoos; eastern lowland gorillas have a population of under 5,000 in the wild and 24 in zoos. Mountain gorillas are the most severely endangered, with an estimated population of about 880 left in the wild and none in zoos.[2][70] Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and poaching for the bushmeat trade. In 2004, a population of several hundred gorillas in the Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo was essentially wiped out by the Ebola virus.[71] A 2006 study published in Science concluded more than 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. The researchers indicated in conjunction with commercial hunting of these apes, the virus creates "a recipe for rapid ecological extinction".[72] Conservation efforts include the Great Apes Survival Project, a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme and the UNESCO, and also an international treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats, concluded under UNEP-administered Convention on Migratory Species. The Gorilla Agreement is the first legally binding instrument exclusively targeting gorilla conservation; it came into effect on 1 June 2008.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 181–182. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Prince-Hughes, Dawn (1987). Songs of the Gorilla Nation. Harmony. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-4000-5058-1.
  3. ^ Müller, C. (1855–61). Geographici Graeci Minores. pp. 1.1–14: text and trans. Ed, J. Blomqvist (1979).
  4. ^ "A Carthaginian Exploration of the West African Coast". Archived from the original on 14 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Groves, Colin (2002). "A history of gorilla taxonomy" (PDF). In Andrea B. Taylor & Michele L. Goldsmith (ed.). Gorilla Biology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective. Cambridge University Press. pp. 15–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2009. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b Conniff, Richard (2009). "Discoveringgorilla". Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews. 18 (2): 55–61. doi:10.1002/evan.20203.
  7. ^ Γόριλλαι Archived 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  8. ^ Glazko GV, Nei M (March 2003). "Estimation of divergence times for major lineages of primate species". Mol. Biol. Evol. 20 (3): 424–34. doi:10.1093/molbev/msg050. PMID 12644563. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Goidts V; Armengol L; Schempp W; et al. (March 2006). "Identification of large-scale human-specific copy number differences by inter-species array comparative genomic hybridization". Hum. Genet. 119 (1–2): 185–98. doi:10.1007/s00439-005-0130-9. PMID 16395594.
  10. ^ Stewart, Kelly J.; Pascale Sicotte; Martha M. Robbins (2001). "Mountain Gorillas of the Virungas". Fathom / Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Israfil, H.; Zehr, S. M.; Mootnick, A. R.; Ruvolo, M.; Steiper, M. E. (2011). "Unresolved molecular phylogenies of gibbons and siamangs (Family: Hylobatidae) based on mitochondrial, Y-linked, and X-linked loci indicate a rapid Miocene radiation or sudden vicariance event" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 58 (3): 447–455. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.11.005. PMC 3046308. PMID 21074627. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ McManus, Kimberly F; Kelley, Joanna L; Song, Shiya; Veeramah, Krishna R; Woerner, August E; Stevison, Laurie S; Ryder, Oliver A; Ape Genome Project, Great; Kidd, Jeffrey M; Wall, Jeffrey D; Bustamante, Carlos D; Hammer, Michael F (2015). "Inference of Gorilla Demographic and Selective History from Whole-Genome Sequence Data". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 32 (3): 600–12. doi:10.1093/molbev/msu394. PMC 4327160. PMID 25534031.
  13. ^ Prince-Hughes, Dawn (1987). Songs of the Gorilla Nation. Harmony. pp. 82–3. ISBN 978-1-4000-5058-1.
  14. ^ Thompson, Nathan E; Ostrofsky, Kelly R; McFarlin, Shannon C; Robbins, Martha M; Stoinski, Tara S; Almécija, Sergio (2018). "Unexpected terrestrial hand posture diversity in wild mountain gorillas". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 166 (1): 84–94. doi:10.1002/ajpa.23404. PMID 29344933.
  15. ^ Miller, Patricia (1997). Gorillas. p. 64. ISBN 978-0919879898. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Wood, B. A. (1978). "Relationship between body size and long bone lengths in Pan and Gorilla". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 50 (1): 23–5. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330500104. PMID 736111.
  17. ^ Leigh, S. R.; Shea, B. T. (1995). "Ontogeny and the evolution of adult body size dimorphism in apes". American Journal of Primatology. 36: 37–60. doi:10.1002/ajp.1350360104.
  18. ^ Tuttle, Russell H. (1986). Apes of the World: Their Social Behavior, Communication, Mentality and Ecology. William Andrew. ISBN 978-0815511045.
  19. ^ a b c d Wood (1983). The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9.
  20. ^ Gorilla Biology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective
  21. ^ Rowe N. (1996) Pictorial guide to the living primates. East Hampton, NY: Pogonias Pr.
  22. ^ Gamble, K. C.; Moyse, J. A.; Lovstad, J. N.; Ober, C. B.; Thompson, E. E. (2011). "Blood groups in the Species Survival Plan, European Endangered Species Program, and managed in situ populations of bonobo (Pan paniscus), common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), gorilla (Gorilla ssp.), and orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus ssp.)" (PDF). Zoo Biology. 30 (4): 427–444. doi:10.1002/zoo.20348. PMC 4258062. PMID 20853409. Archived from the original (pdf) on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "Santa Barbara Zoo – Western Lowland Gorilla". santabarbarazoo.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Gorrilas Archived 1 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Smithsonian National Zoological Park
  25. ^ a b Sarmiento EE. (2003) "Distribution, taxonomy, genetics, ecology, and causal links of gorilla survival: the need to develop practical knowledge for gorilla conservation". In: Taylor AB, Goldsmith ML (eds.). Gorilla biology: a multidisciplinary perspective. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Pr. pp. 432–71.
  26. ^ Ilambu O. (2001) "Ecology of Eastern Lowland gorilla: is there enough scientific knowledge to mitigate conservation threats associated with extreme disturbances in its distribution range?" In: The apes: challenges for the 21st century. Conference proceedings; 10 May 2000–13; Brookfield, IL. Chicago: Chicago Zoo Soc. pp. 307–12.
  27. ^ Miller-Schroeder, Patricia (1997). Gorillas. Weigl Educational Publishers Limited. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-919879-89-8. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ a b Marchant, Linda Frances; Nishida, Toshisada (1996). Great ape societies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 226–227. ISBN 978-0-521-55536-4. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ a b c McNeilage A. (2001) "Diet and habitat use of two mountain gorilla groups in contrasting habitats in the Virungas". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ (eds.). Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge University Press. pp. 265–92.
  30. ^ Yamagiwa J, Mwanza N, Yumoto T, Maruhashi T (1994). "Seasonal change in the composition of the diet of eastern lowland gorillas". Primates. 35: 1–14. doi:10.1007/BF02381481.
  31. ^ a b Tutin CG. (1996) "Ranging and social structure of lowland gorillas in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon". In: McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T (eds.). Great ape societies. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Press pp. 58–70.
  32. ^ GORILLAS – Diet & Eating Habits Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Seaworld.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-27.
  33. ^ a b c d Watts DP. (1996) "Comparative socio-ecology of gorillas". In: McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T (eds.). Great ape societies. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Press. pp. 16-28.
  34. ^ a b Yamagiwa J, Kahekwa J, Kanyunyi Basabose A (2003). "Intra-specific variation in social organization of gorillas: implications for their social evolution". Primates. 44 (4): 359–69. doi:10.1007/s10329-003-0049-5. PMID 12942370.
  35. ^ a b c Robbins MM. (2001) "Variation in the social system of mountain gorillas: the male perspective". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ, editors. Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Pr. pp. 29–58.
  36. ^ a b c Stokes EJ, Parnell RJ, Olejniczak C (2003). "Female dispersal and reproductive success in wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)". Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 54 (4): 329–39. doi:10.1007/s00265-003-0630-3. JSTOR 25063274.
  37. ^ a b Yamagiwa J, Kahekwa J. (2001) "Dispersal patterns, group structure, and reproductive parameters of eastern lowland gorillas at Kahuzi in the absence of infanticide". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ (eds.). Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Press. pp. 89–122.
  38. ^ a b Watts DP. (1989). "Infanticide in mountain gorillas: new cases and a reconsideration of the evidence". Ethology. 81: 1–18. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1989.tb00754.x.
  39. ^ a b Watts DP. (2003) "Gorilla social relationships: a comparative review". In: Taylor AB, Goldsmith ML (eds). Gorilla biology: a multidisciplinary perspective. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Press. pp. 302–27.
  40. ^ Watts DP. (2001) "Social relationships of female mountain gorillas". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ (eds.). Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Press. pp. 216–40.
  41. ^ Juichi Yamagiwa (1987). "Intra- and Inter-group Interactions of an All-male Group of Virunga Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei )". Primates. 28 (1): 1–30. doi:10.1007/BF02382180.
  42. ^ a b Fossey, D. (1983). Gorillas in the mist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-28217-9.
  43. ^ Fay JM, Carroll R, Kerbis Peterhans JC, Harris D (1995). "Leopard attack on and consumption of gorillas in the Central African Republic". Journal of Human Evolution. 29 (1): 93–9. doi:10.1006/jhev.1995.1048. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ Wildlife: Mountain Gorilla Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. AWF. Retrieved on 2011-09-27.
  45. ^ a b Czekala N, Robbins MM. (2001) "Assessment of reproduction and stress through hormone analysis in gorillas". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ, editors. Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Pr. pp. 317–39.
  46. ^ a b Watts DP (1991). "Mountain gorilla reproduction and sexual behavior". Am J Primatol. 24 (3–4): 211–225. doi:10.1002/ajp.1350240307.
  47. ^ a b Sicotte P. (2001) "Female mate choice in mountain gorillas". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ, editors. Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Pr. pp. 59–87.
  48. ^ Tuan C. Nguyen. "Caught in the act! Gorillas mate face to face". MSN. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  49. ^ a b c d e Stewart KJ. (2001) "Social relationships of immature gorillas and silverbacks". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ, editors. Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge Univ Press. ISBN 0521019869. pp. 183–213.
  50. ^ a b c Stewart KJ (1988). "Suckling and lactational anoestrus in wild gorillas (Gorilla gorilla)". J Reprod Fertil. 83 (2): 627–34. doi:10.1530/jrf.0.0830627. PMID 3411555.
  51. ^ a b Fletcher A. (2001) "Development of infant independence from the mother in wild mountain gorillas". In: Robbins MM, Sicotte P, Stewart KJ, editors. Mountain gorillas: three decades of research at Karisoke. Cambridge (England): Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521019869. pp. 153–82.
  52. ^ Harcourt, A.H., Stewart, K.J., Hauser, M. (1993). "Functions of wild gorilla 'close' calls. I. Repertoire, context, and interspecific comparison". Behaviour. 124: 89. doi:10.1163/156853993X00524.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  53. ^ Maple, T.L., & Hoff, M.P. (1982). Gorilla Behavior. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ "Columbus Zoo Announces the Death of Colo, World's Oldest Zoo Gorilla". www.columbuszoo.org. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  55. ^ "Planet of No Apes? Experts Warn It's Close" Archived 10 July 2012 at WebCite CBS News Online, 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  56. ^ Breuer T, Ndoundou-Hockemba M, Fishlock V (2005). "First Observation of Tool Use in Wild Gorillas". PLoS Biol. 3 (11): e380. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030380. PMC 1236726. PMID 16187795.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  57. ^ "A Tough Nut to Crack for Evolution". CBS News. 18 October 2005. Archived from the original on 14 November 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  58. ^ Savage TS. (1847). Communication describing the external character and habits of a new species of Troglodytes (T. gorilla) Archived 4 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Boston Soc Nat Hist, pp. 245–247.
  59. ^ Savage TS, Wyman J. (1847). Notice of the external characters and habits of Troglodytes gorilla, a new species of orang from the Gaboon River, osteology of the same Archived 20 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Boston J Nat Hist 5:417–443.
  60. ^ McCook, S. (1996). ""It May Be Truth, but It Is Not Evidence": Paul du Chaillu and the Legitimation of Evidence in the Field Sciences" (PDF). Osiris. 11: 177–197. doi:10.1086/368759. hdl:10214/7693.
  61. ^ A History of Museum Victoria: Melbourne 1865: Gorillas at the Museum Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Museumvictoria.com.au. Retrieved on 2011-09-27.
  62. ^ a b Quammen, David (4 April 2013). "Book Review: Planet of the Ape - 'Between Man and Beast,' by Monte Reel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  63. ^ Van Heuverswyn, Fran; Li, Yingying; Neel, Cecile; Bailes, Elizabeth; Keele, Brandon F.; Liu, Weimin; Loul, Severin; Butel, Christelle; Liegeois, Florian; Bienvenue, Yanga; Ngolle, Eitel Mpoudi; Sharp, Paul M.; Shaw, George M.; Delaporte, Eric; Hahn, Beatrice H.; Peeters, Martine (2006). "Human immunodeficiency viruses: SIV infection in wild gorillas". Nature. 444 (7116): 164. Bibcode:2006Natur.444..164V. doi:10.1038/444164a. PMID 17093443.
  64. ^ Plantier, Jean-Christophe; Leoz, Marie; Dickerson, Jonathan E; De Oliveira, Fabienne; Cordonnier, François; Lemée, VéRonique; Damond, Florence; Robertson, David L; Simon, François (2009). "A new human immunodeficiency virus derived from gorillas". Nature Medicine. 15 (8): 871–72. doi:10.1038/nm.2016. PMID 19648927.
  65. ^ Sharp, P. M.; Bailes, E.; Chaudhuri, R. R.; Rodenburg, C. M.; Santiago, M. O.; Hahn, B. H. (2001). "The origins of acquired immune deficiency syndrome viruses: where and when?". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 356 (1410): 867–76. doi:10.1098/rstb.2001.0863. PMC 1088480. PMID 11405934.
  66. ^ Takebe, Y; Uenishi, R; Li, X (2008). "Global Molecular Epidemiology of HIV: Understanding the Genesis of AIDS Pandemic". HIV-1: Molecular Biology and Pathogenesis. Advances in Pharmacology. Vol. 56. pp. 1–25. doi:10.1016/S1054-3589(07)56001-1. ISBN 9780123736017. PMID 18086407. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  67. ^ Kate Kelland (7 March 2012). "Gorilla genome sheds new light on human evolution". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  68. ^ Aylwyn Scally; Dutheil, Julien Y.; Hillier, Ladeana W.; Jordan, Gregory E.; Goodhead, Ian; Herrero, Javier; Hobolth, Asger; Lappalainen, Tuuli; Mailund, Thomas; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; McCarthy, Shane; Montgomery, Stephen H.; Schwalie, Petra C.; Tang, Y. Amy; Ward, Michelle C.; Xue, Yali; Yngvadottir, Bryndis; Alkan, Can; Andersen, Lars N.; Ayub, Qasim; Ball, Edward V.; Beal, Kathryn; Bradley, Brenda J.; Chen, Yuan; Clee, Chris M.; Fitzgerald, Stephen; Graves, Tina A.; Gu, Yong; Heath, Paul; et al. (2012). "Insights into hominid evolution from the gorilla genome sequence". Nature. 483 (7388): 169–175. Bibcode:2012Natur.483..169S. doi:10.1038/nature10842. hdl:10261/80788. PMC 3303130. PMID 22398555.
  69. ^ Smith, Kerri (7 March 2012). "Gorilla joins the genome club". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.10185. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  70. ^ a b "Four out of six great apes one step away from extinction – IUCN Red List". iucn.org. 4 September 2016. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  71. ^ "Gorillas infecting each other with Ebola". NewScientist.com. 10 July 2006. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  72. ^ "Ebola 'kills over 5,000 gorillas'". News.bbc.co.uk. 8 December 2006. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2006. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)