Monkeys Apes Oligocene Hominoid: Proconsul Africanus

Mountain gorillas are descendants of ancestral monkeys and apes found in Africa and
Arabia during the start of the Oligocene epoch (34-24 million years ago). The fossil record
provides evidence of the hominoid primates (apes) found in east Africa about 22–32
million years ago. The fossil record of the area where mountain gorillas live is particularly
poor and so its evolutionary history is not clear.[3] It was about 9 million years ago that the
group of primates that were to evolve into gorillas split from their common ancestor with
humans and chimps; this is when the genus Gorillaemerged. It is not certain what this early
relative of the gorilla was, but it is traced back to the early ape Proconsul
africanus.[4] Mountain gorillas have been isolated from eastern lowland gorillas for about
400,000 years and these two taxa separated from their western counterparts
approximately 2 million years ago.[5] There has been considerable and as yet unresolved
debate over the classification of mountain gorillas. The genus was first referenced
as Troglodytes in 1847, but renamed to Gorilla in 1852. It was not until 1967 that the
taxonomist Colin Groves proposed that all gorillas be regarded as one species (Gorilla
gorilla) with three sub-species Gorilla gorilla gorilla(western lowland gorilla), Gorilla
gorilla graueri (eastern lowland gorilla) and Gorilla gorilla beringei(mountain gorilla).
Following a review in 2003, they were divided into two species (Gorilla gorillaand Gorilla
beringei) by The World Conservation Union (IUCN).[3]
Some primatologists[who?] speculate the Bwindi population in Uganda is a separate
subspecies,[citation needed] though no description has been finalized.
Physical descriptionEdit
Silverback of Ntambara group, in typical resting attitude
The fur of the mountain gorilla, often thicker and longer than that of other gorilla species,
enables them to live in colder temperatures.[6] Gorillas can be identified by nose prints
unique to each individual.[7] Males, at a mean weight of 195 kg (430 lb) upright standing
height of 168 cm (66 in) usually weigh twice as much as the females, at a mean of 100 kg
(220 lb) and a height of 140 cm (55 in).[8] This subspecies is smaller than the eastern
lowland gorilla, the other subspecies of eastern gorilla. Adult males have more pronounced
bony crests on the very top and back of their skulls, giving their heads a more conical
shape. These crests anchor the powerful temporalis muscles, which attach to the lower jaw
(mandible). Adult females also have these crests, but they are less pronounced.[7] Like all
gorillas they feature dark brown eyes framed by a black ring around the iris. Adult males
are called silverbacks because a saddle of gray or silver-colored hair develops on their
backs with age. The hair on their backs is shorter than on most other body parts, and their
arm hair is especially long.The tallest silverback recorded was a 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 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. There is an unconfirmed record of another
individual, shot in 1932, that was 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) and weighed 218.6 kg (482 lb). The
heaviest silverback recorded was a 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) shot in Ambam, Cameroon, which
weighed 267 kg (589 lb).[9]
The mountain gorilla is primarily terrestrial and quadrupedal. However, it will climb into
fruiting trees if the branches can carry its weight, and it is capable of running bipedally up
to 6 m (20 ft).[citation needed] Like all great apes other than humans, its arms are longer than
its legs. It moves by knuckle-walking (like the common chimpanzee, but unlike
the bonobo and both orangutan species), supporting its weight on the backs of its curved
fingers rather than its palms.[citation needed]
The mountain gorilla is diurnal, most active between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.[citation
needed] Many of these hours are spent eating, as large quantities of food are needed to
sustain its massive bulk. It forages in early morning, rests during the late morning and
around midday, and in the afternoon it forages again before resting at night. Each gorilla
builds a nest from surrounding vegetation to sleep in, constructing a new one every
evening. Only infants sleep in the same nest as their mothers. They leave their sleeping
sites when the sun rises at around 6 am, except when it is cold and overcast; then they
often stay longer in their nests.[10]

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Mountain gorillas are descendants of ancestral monkeys and apes found in Africa and

Silverback of Ntambara group, in typical resting attitude

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