Chimpanzee



Chimpanzee

Introduction

Common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) are considered our closest living relatives by a majority of the scientific community. From analyzing extensive genetic evidence, we shared a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. From that point forward however, a divergence took place and led to modern gorillas. Bonobos then diverged from ancestral chimpanzees about 1.5 million years ago, when a group of them moved south of the Congo River and became an isolated population. This isolation and change to a lowland tropical forest habitat, resulted in their evolving into a separate species. There are four subspecies of the Common chimpanzee. The Western or Masked chimpanzee (P.t. verus), the Black-faced chimpanzee (P.t. troglodytes), Long-haired chimpanzee (P.t. schweinfurthi) and one which has not been given a common name (P.t. vellerosus).

Physical characteristics

Of the several subspecies of chimpanzees in the wilds of Africa. the Common, and bonobo, are more prevalent. The bonobo, has in the past, been referred to as the "pygmy chimpanzee and this is a misnomer. Even though they have a more slender body and different shaped head than the common chimpanzee, they weigh as much as the smallest of the subspecies. Both have stout bodies with backs sloping evenly down from shoulders to hips. They have highly mobile shoulder joints and long arms, opposable thumbs and opposable big toes that make it easy for precision gripping. Their arms extend below the knees when the animal is standing and has a spread that is about 50% greater than the animal's height. Both species have large brains (300-400cc) and are equally relative to their body size (Teleki, 1973).

The face is usually bare and generally black in color. Younger animals have flesh-colored ears, nose, hands, and feet, and a white patch near the rump. At maturity, the overall skin color is dark, and the fur varies from deep black to light brown. After about the age of 20, they will develop gray hair on their backs. The hair on the head may grow in many directions, and both sexes are prone to partial baldness early in maturity. Both sexes will often have a short white beard (Stanford, C.B., J. Wallis, E. Mpongo and J. Goodall 1994b).

Males of both species are 20 to 30% larger than females, and have bigger canine teeth which they use in severe fights. Body proportions are otherwise similar and both sexes have prominent genitals. Chimpanzees and bonobos can stand upright and are well adapted for arboreal Primarily tree dwelling. activities where they do most of their feeding and sleeping (Plummer, T. and C.B, 1999).

Distribution and Habitat

The Common chimpanzee occupies a broad range compared to the bonobo and can be found in 21 African countries. They are found north of the River Congo in humid closed-canopy forests, montane forest (up to 6,500 ft.), seasonally dry forests and savanna-woodlands. Population densities vary from area to area. When occasionally seen on flat savannas it is only while moving from one forest patch to ...