chimpanzee

chimpanzee

a gregarious and intelligent anthropoid ape, Pan troglodytes, inhabiting forests in central W Africa

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

chimpanzee

[‚chim‚pan′zē]

(vertebrate zoology)

Either of two species of Primates of the genus Pan indigenous to central-west Africa.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Chimpanzee

 

a large anthropoid ape of the genus Pan of the family Pongidae. The chimpanzee measures 150–165 cm in height and weighs 45–80 kg; the females are somewhat smaller than the males. The arms are longer than the legs. The fingers are long, and a relatively short thumb is in opposition to the rest of the fingers. The ears are large, the upper lip is high, and the nose protrudes little. Supraorbital and occipital ridges are developed on the skull. The skin on the face, hands, and feet is wrinkled. The hair is black and coarse. The skin is light-colored. There are two species: the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the dwarf chimpanzee (P. paniscus). Both species have a set of 48 chromosomes. Some zoologists consider them to be subspecies of a single species.

Chimpanzees are distributed in equatorial Africa. Semiterrestrial animals, they inhabit tropical rain and mountain forests, up to elevations of 3,000 m. Each night they build a new nest in a tree. They live in groups of five to 25 individuals under a hierarchical system. They feed on fruits, leaves, shoots, various insects, bird eggs, nestlings, and, sometimes, small mammals. Gestation lasts about 225 days. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of six to ten years. Life expectancy is 50–60 years.

Chimpanzees are curious by nature and are capable of learning through imitation. They are distinguished by the development of social instincts. They are characterized by a considerable variety of facial expressions and gesticulations, and they use about 30 different sounds to communicate. Many scientists have noted that chimpanzees have the capability of goal-oriented activity and possibly of rudimentary abstract thought. According to many biochemical features, they are closer to man than the other anthropoid apes and are therefore used in medicobiological and psychophysiological experiments. Their numbers are few. The dwarf chimpanzee is listed as an endangered species in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

REFERENCES

Van Lawick-Goodall, J. V teni cheloveka. Moscow, 1974. (Translated from English.)
King, M.-C, and A. C. Wilson. “Evolution at Two Levels in Humans and Chimpanzees.” Science, 1975, vol. 188, no. 4184, pp. 107–116.

T. D. GLADKOVA

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.