Bornean Orangutan
Pongo pygmaeus
Summary 3
The Bornean orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan, it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia. Like the other great apes, orangutans are highly intelligent, displaying advanced tool use and distinct cultural patterns in the wild. Orangutans share approximately 97% of their DNA with humans.
Description 4
Orang-utan means 'person of the forest' (4) and this Asian ape is indeed truly a tree-dweller. Recent genetic evidence has led to the re-classification of Bornean and Sumatran orang-utans as separate species: Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii respectively (5). Orang-utans have distinctive body shapes with very long arms that may reach up to two metres in length. They have a coarse, shaggy reddish coat (6) and grasping hands and feet (2). They are highly sexually dimorphic, with adult males being distinguished by their large size, throat pouch and flanges on either side of the face, known as cheek pads (7).
Habitat 5
Bornean orangutans are only found in forested areas, but can be found in various types of forests, from low-level swamps to mountainous areas 1500 m in elevation. They can be found at various heights in the trees. They may move large distances to find trees bearing fruit.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest ; mountains
Sources and Credits
- (c) Mahbob Yusof, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/26942860@N06/3906771964
- (c) Mahbob Yusof, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/26942860@N06/3904422697
- Adapted by Brian Martin from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pongo_pygmaeus
- (c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6687254
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18668150
