Lar Gibbon
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| Hylobates lar (Linnaeus, 1771) |
The Lar Gibbon (Hylobates lar), also known as the White-handed Gibbon, is a primate in the Hylobatidae or gibbon family. It is one of the more well-known gibbons and is often seen in zoos.
The range of the Lar Gibbon extends from southwest China and eastern Myanmar to Thailand and down the whole Malay Peninsula. It is also present in the northwest portion of the island of Sumatra.
The fur coloring of the Lar Gibbon varies from black and dark-brown to light brown sandy colors. The hands and feet are white colored, likewise a ring of white hair surrounds the black face. Both males and females can have all color variants, and the sexes also hardly differ in size. As is the case for all gibbons, they have long hands and no tail.
Lar Gibbons are diurnal and arboreal, inhabiting rain forests. They rarely come on ground, but they use their long arms to brachiate through the trees. With their hooked hands they can move swiftly with great momentum, swinging from the branches. Traditionally thought to form life long monogamous pairings, long-term studies conducted in Khao Yai National park in Thailand suggest that their mating system is somewhat flexible, incorporating extra-pair copulations, partner changes and polyandrous groupings.[4] The family groups inhabit a firm territory, which they protect by warding off other gibbons with their calls. Their diet consists primarily of fruits, although they also eat leaves, buds, and insects.
Sexually they are similar to other gibbons. Gestation is seven months long and pregnancies are usually of a single young. Young are nursed for approximately two years, and full maturity comes at about 8 years. The life expectancy of the Lar Gibbons in the wild is about 25 years.
Lar Gibbons are threatened in various ways: they are sometimes hunted for their meat, sometimes a parent is killed in order to capture young animals for pets. The largest danger, however, is the loss of habitat. With breathtaking speed the forests of Southeast Asia are cut down in order to establish plantations, fields and settlements. National parks and protected areas exist, but are often poorly supervised.
There are five subspecies of Lar Gibbon:[1][5]
- Malaysian Lar Gibbon, Hylobates lar lar
- Carpenter's Lar Gibbon, Hylobates lar carpenteri
- Central Lar Gibbon, Hylobates lar entelloides
- Sumatran Lar Gibbon, Hylobates lar vestitus
- Yunnan Lar Gibbon, Hylobates lar yunnanensis
 A black colored Lar Gibbon |
 Light brown-orange Lar Gibbon |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 179-180. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Hylobates lar (TSN 573074). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Eudey et al (2000). Hylobates lar. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
- ^ Sommer, V. & Reichard, U. (2000). "Rethinking Monogamy: The Gibbon Case", in P. Kappeler, ed.: Primate Males. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 159-168.
- ^ Geissmann, Thomas. Gibbon Systematics and Species Identification. Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
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