Gibbons

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spend most of their life in trees, where they use their long arms and dexterous hands and feet to grasp branches and vines, chimpanzees frequently come to the ground to feed. Gorillas are primarily terrestrial, but even fully grown adult males have been observed clambering among tree branches more than 15 m (49 ft) high. Chimpanzees and gorillas—the apes that spend the most time on the ground—normally walk on all fours, clenching their hands so that their knuckles take their weight.
From physical and fossil evidence, biologists know that apes and humans share a common ancestry. In recent years, biochemical analysis has shown just how close this link is—chimpanzees and humans differ significantly in only 2 percent of their genes. This evidence suggests that they diverged from a common ancestor around five to seven million years ago.


II. Range and Habitat

The gorilla, the common chimpanzee, and the bonobo live in dense tropical forests on the African ...

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Male orangutans, for example, often weigh more than twice as much as females.

Most apes are covered with thick fur. Gibbons have long fur of one color on the body and short fur of a contrasting color surrounding the face. A diverse range of colors distinguishes the different species and subspecies of gibbons, and there is frequently a difference in coloring between the sexes. The coloring of the great apes is drab by comparison. Orangutans have reddish brown fur, while the fur of chimpanzees and gorillas is black. Mature male gorillas are called silverbacks because the fur on their backs turns silvery gray.

Ape skulls and skeletons share the same underlying structure as those ...

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