Types of Apes

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Types of Apes: There are two main types of apes: “lesser apes” and “great apes“. Lesser apes include mainly all gibbon species, whereas the Great apes include orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos.

Great apes and humans belong to the same primate group called hominoids despite differences in limb length and jaw shape; their bone structure similarities can be noticed. However, apes and humans are not directly related.

Humans belong to a separate division of the hominoid family called the hominids. This group includes modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and our direct ancestors.

Recent genetics research indicates that the hominid and ape lineages may have diverged about 7 to 9 million years ago^[1].

Here are two main kinds of apes namely:

Lesser Apes
Gibbons (also called lesser apes) belong to the family Hylobatidae, and there are 20 discovered species. Gibbons live in sub-tropical and tropical rainforests of Bangladesh, India, China, and the Indonesian islands. All gibbons are tailless and smaller in size when compared to Great apes.
Great Apes
The Hominidae family members are great apes or hominids. This taxonomic primate contains four genera, namely Pongo (Orangutans), Gorilla (East and West Gorillas), Pan (Chimpanzees & Bonobos), and Homo (modern humans).
- Orangutans
  These great apes are native to Indonesia and Malaysia’s rainforests but are found only in Borneo and Sumatra islands. There are only 3 known species of orangutans under the genus Pongo.
- Gorillas
  Gorillas are plant-eating primates, mostly ground-dwelling great apes found in equatorial African tropical forests. The genus Gorilla comprises two species: the eastern and western gorilla. The DNA of gorillas is more similar to that of humans. So, gorillas are the closest relatives to humans after Chimpanzees and Bonobos.
- Chimpanzees
  The chimpanzee (also called chimp or common chimpanzee, or robust chimpanzee) is another great ape found in the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. Chimpanzees are the closest relatives to humans.
- Bonobos
  The bonobo (also called the pygmy chimpanzee) is an endangered great ape and another species in the genus Pan. Bonobos were initially thought to be a subspecies of chimpanzees due to their physical similarities, but they are now a separate species.

Gibbons

Abbott’s Gray Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates abbotti

The Abbot's gray gibbon, also known as a western gray gibbon, is an acrobatic primate of the gibbons' family, Hylobatidae. Abbott's gray gibbons are very small and light. The Abbott's gray gibbon was named after zoologist William Louis Abbott.

Agile Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates agilis

Agile gibbons, also known as dark-handed or black-handed gibbons, are arboreal monkeys; they are always in the trees. Agile gibbons belong to the great ape family. However, they are categorized as lesser apes because they are smaller than great apes.

Black-Crested Gibbon

Species Name: Nomascus concolor

Black-crested Gibbons are mainly found in southern China (Yunnan) and some distribution areas in northwestern Laos and northern Vietnam. Black-crested gibbons exhibit sexual dichromatism, with the male being entirely black, while the female is yellowish or tan in color with variable black markings.

Bornean White-Bearded Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates albibarbis

The Bornean white-bearded gibbon also called the southern gibbon, or Bornean agile gibbon, is a species of gibbon native to southern Borneo. Bornean white-bearded gibbons are diurnal and arboreal species. During the day, they roam the forest for food and participate in social activities.

Bornean Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates muelleri

Also known as the Müller's or gray gibbon, the Bornean gibbon is native to the Bornean Island, which is divided between the nations of Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Southern Yellow-Cheeked Gibbon

Species Name: Nomascus gabriellae

The southern yellow-cheeked gibbon, also known as a golden-cheeked gibbon, buffed-cheeked gibbon, red-cheeked gibbon, southern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon, or golden-cheeked crested gibbon, is a species of gibbon endemic to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Eastern Gray Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates funereus

The eastern gray gibbon also known as the northern gray gibbon is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. Eastern gray gibbons have light brown fur that fades to black on the face, chest, and inner arms, with a white border around the face.

Eastern Black-Crested Gibbon

Species Name: Nomascus nasutus

The eastern black-crested gibbon, also called the Cao-vit crested gibbon or Cao-vit black-crested gibbon, is a gibbon native to northern Vietnam and southeast China. Eastern black-crested gibbons are found in social groups consisting of females, juveniles, infants, and sometimes males.

Eastern Hoolock Gibbon

Species Name: Hoolock leuconedys

The eastern hoolock gibbon is a primate of the Hylobatidae family. Eastern hoolock gibbons don't have a tail like all other apes but have a patch of hair in the anogenital region.

Skywalker Hoolock Gibbon

Species Name: Hoolock tianxing

Skywalker's hoolock gibbon, also known as the Gaoligong hoolock gibbon, is a primate of the Hylobatidae family. The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is one of 3 species of hoolock gibbons and was first described in the American Journal of Primatology in January 2017.

Hainan Black-Crested Gibbon

Species Name: Nomascus hainanus

The Hainan black-crested gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), also known as Hainan gibbon, is an endangered species of gibbon only found on China's Hainan Island. Hainan black-crested gibbons are found in social groups of females, infants, juveniles, and sometimes males.

Kloss’s Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates klossii

Kloss's gibbon (Hylobates klossii), also called the dwarf siamang, Mentawai gibbon, or Bilou, is an endangered primate in the gibbon family Hylobatidae. Kloss's gibbons are territorial, with semi-adult males and adolescents working with their fathers to protect the group's territory.

Silvery Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates moloch

The silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch), also called the Javan gibbon, is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. Silvery gibbons are tree dwellers and feel just as comfortable in the upper canopy as in the undergrowth.

Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon

Species Name: Nomascus leucogenys

The northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys), also called the white-cheeked gibbon, is an endangered species of gibbon endemic to Southeast Asia. Like other members of its genus, both males and females have unusually long arms, even for gibbons, with arms 1.2 to 1.4 times the length of their legs.

Northern Buffed-Cheeked Gibbon

Species Name: Nomascus annamensis

The northern buffed-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) is a species of crested gibbon recently discovered in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Northern buffed-cheeked gibbons live almost exclusively in trees and rarely leave the canopy's comfort and safety.

Pileated Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates pileatus

The pileated gibbon (Hylobates pileatus) is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. Pileated gibbons are monogamous and typically found in only around 3 percent of mammals.

Siamang Gibbon

Species Name: Symphalangus syndactylus

The siamang gibbon (Symphalangus syndactylus) is a black-coated arboreal gibbon endemic to the forests of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is the only species in the genus Symphalangus. The siamang's body is perfectly adapted to a life of swinging from branch to branch (also called brachiation).

Southern White-Cheeked Gibbon

Species Name: Nomascus siki

The southern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus siki) is a species of gibbon endemic to Laos and Vietnam. It is closely related to the yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) and northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys).

Western Hoolock Gibbon

Species Name: Hoolock hoolock

are three species of primates in the Hoolock genus of the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, endemic to Myanmar, eastern Bangladesh, northeastern India, and southwestern China.

Lar Gibbon

Species Name: Hylobates lar

The lar gibbon (Hylobates lar), also called the white-handed gibbon, is another endangered mammal in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is among the best-known gibbons and is occasionally kept in captivity. Lar gibbons have a two-tone coat.

Orangutans

Bornean Orangutan

Species Name: Pongo pygmaeus

The Bornean orangutan is native to the Borneo Island. Along with Pongo abelii (the Sumatran orangutan) and Pongo tapanuliensis (the Tapanuli orangutan), it belongs to the only genus of great apes endemic to Asia.

Sumatran Orangutan

Species Name: Pongo abelii

The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is one of 3 species of orangutan. This Asian primate is critically endangered and found only on the Indonesian island of North Sumatra.

Tapanuli Orangutan

Species Name: Pongo tapanuliensis

The Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) is an orangutan species restricted to the southern Tapanuli on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It was described as a distinct species in 2017. The three species of orangutans can be difficult to tell apart.

Gorillas

Eastern Gorilla

Species Name: Gorilla beringei

The eastern gorilla is an endangered species of the Gorilla genus and the largest living primate, with an average length of 150 cm for females and 185 cm for males. Eastern gorillas live in stable and cohesive family groups led by a dominant silverback male.

Western Gorilla

Species Name: Gorilla gorilla

Western gorillas also known as lowland gorillas, are herbivorous, primarily terrestrial apes that inhabit equatorial Africa's tropical rainforests. Like humans, western gorillas do not have a set breeding season, and female species menstruate every 28 days.

Chimpanzees and Bonobos

Common Chimpanzee

Species Name: Pan troglodytes

The chimpanzee, also known simply as the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forests and savannas of tropical Africa. Chimpanzees and humans are thought to have a common ancestor that lived about eight million years ago.

Bonobo

Species Name: Pan paniscus

The bonobo (Pan paniscus) is a great ape in danger of extinction. It is one of two species that make up the Pan genus, the other being Pan troglodytes - the common chimpanzee. Bonobos are both arboreal and terrestrial. Most floor movements are characterized by knuckle quadrupedal walking.

Suggested Reading: All Types of Monkeys

Types of Apes by Taxonomists

Here is the list of apes by taxonomists sorted by the year of classification:

Common Name	Year	Taxonomist(s)	Profession
Bornean Orangutan	1760	Carl Linnaeus	Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician
Lar Gibbon	1771	Carl Linnaeus	Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician
Moloch Gibbon	1798	Jean-Baptiste Audebert	French artist and naturalist
Chimpanzee	1799	Johann Friedrich Blumenbach	German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist
Agile Gibbon	1821	Georges-Fréédééric Cuvier	French zoologist and paleontologist
Siamang Gibbon	1821	Stamford Raffles	British statesman
Black-crested Gibbon	1826	Richard Harlan	American paleontologist, anatomist, and physician
Sumatran Orangutan	1827	Renéé Lesson	French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist
Western Hoolock Gibbon	1834	Richard Harlan	American paleontologist, anatomist, and physician
Northern White-cheeked Crested Gibbon	1840	William Ogilby	Irish-born zoologist
Borneo Gibbon	1841	William Charles Linnaeus Martin	English naturalist
Western Gorilla	1847	Thomas Staughton Savage	American Protestant clergyman, missionary, physician, and naturalist
East Bornean Gray Gibbon	1850	Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire	French zoologist
Pileated Gibbon	1861	John Edward Gray	British zoologist
Eastern Black-crested Gibbon	1884	Philippe Alexandre Jules Küünckel d’Herculais	French entomologist and zoologist
Hainan-crested Gibbon	1892	Oldfield Thomas	British zoologist
Eastern Gorilla	1903	Paul Matschie	German zoologist
Kloss’s Gibbon	1903	Gerrit Smith Miller Jr.	American zoologist and botanist
Buff-cheeked Gibbon	1909	Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas	British zoologist
Bornean White-bearded Gibbon	1911	Marcus Ward Lyon Jr.	American mammalogist, bacteriologist, and pathologist
Abbott’s Gray Gibbon	1929	C. Boden Kloss	English zoologist
Southern White-cheeked Crested Gibbon	1951	Jean Thééodore Delacour	French ornithologist and aviculturist
Eastern Hoolock Gibbon	1967	Colin Groves	British-Australian biologist and anthropologist
Northern Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon	2010	Van Ngoc Thinh, Alan R. Mootnick, Vu Ngoc Thanh, Tilo Nadler, Christian Roos	German Primatologists
Gaoligong Hoolock Gibbon	2017	Peng-fei Fan, Kai He, Xing Chen, Alejandra Ortiz, Bin Zhang, Chao Zhao, Yun-Qiao Li, Hai-bo Zhang, Clare Kimock, Wen-Zhi Wang, Colin P. Groves, Samuel T. Turvey, Christian Roos, Kristofer M. Helgen & Xue-Long Jiang.	Many Chinese Primatologists
Tapanuli Orangutan	2017	Nurcahyo, Meijaard, Nowak, Fredriksson, & Groves in Nater, Mattle-Greminger, Nurcahyo, Nowak, de Manuel, Desai, Groves, Pybus, Sonay, Roos, Lameira, Wich, Askew, Davila-Ross, Fredriksson, de Valles, Casals, Prado-Martinez, Goossens, Verschoor, Warren, Singleton, Marques, Pamungkas, Perwitasari-Farajallah, Rianti, Tuuga, Gut, Gut, Orozco-terWengel, van Schaik, Bertranpetit, Anisimova, Scally, Marques-Bonet, Meijaard & Krutzen	Many Primatologists

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BioExplorer.net. (2024, November 14). Types of Apes. Bio Explorer. https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/apes/.

BioExplorer.net. "Types of Apes" Bio Explorer, 14 November 2024, https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/apes/.

BioExplorer.net. "Types of Apes" Bio Explorer, November 14 2024. https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/apes/.

Key References

^[1] – “Generation Gaps Suggest Ancient Human-Ape Split | Science | AAAS”. Accessed October 25, 2022. Link.

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Types of Apes

Types of Apes

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