gorilla

gorilla

the largest anthropoid ape, Gorilla gorilla, inhabiting the forests of central W Africa. It is stocky and massive, with a short muzzle and coarse dark hair

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

gorilla

[gə′ril·ə]

(vertebrate zoology)

Gorilla gorilla. An anthropoid ape, the largest living primate; the two African subspecies are the lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla.

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 It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Gorilla

 

(Gorilla gorilla), the largest ape, a member of the family Pongidae of the order Primates.

The adult male grows to a height of 175 cm, with an arm spread of up to 260 cm, a chest girth of up to 152 cm. and a weight of from 135 to 180 kg (in captivity, up to 300 kg). The females are much smaller, weighing 75–110 kg (up to 126 kg in captivity). The hair is black and on the top of the head, chestnut-colored; with age it turns gray along the back. The head is large, with a markedly protruding forehead. The trunk is massive, and the upper limbs are longer than the lower ones. Similarities in body construction to that of humans are partially explained by the gorilla’s terrestrial way of life. The volume of the cranium is 500–600 cu cm (up to 752 cu cm), and the brain is similar in construction to that of a human. There are 48 chromosomes.

Gorillas are found in Equatorial Africa. There are three subspecies: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern mountain gorilla, and the eastern lowland gorilla, the last two being larger than the first. They live in tropical or mountain forests and in small herds (of five to 30 individuals) led by powerful males. On the ground they move on all fours. Sometimes they climb trees. They are herbivorous, eating fruits, berries, and nuts. At night they live in nests built on the ground or in trees. The gestation period is from 250 to 290 days: the newborn gorilla weighs about 2 kg. Longevity in the wild is 25–30 years. As a result of sport hunting, their numbers have been greatly reduced, and they are now protected. They do not thrive in captivity and rarely reproduce.

REFERENCES

Schaller. G. B. God pod znakom gorilly. Moscow, 1968. (Translated from English.)
Napier, J. R., and P. H. Napier. A Handbook of Living Primates. London-New York, 1967.

M. F. NESTURKH

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