Eastern hoolock gibbon | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Family: | Hylobatidae |
Genus: | Hoolock |
Species: | H. leuconedys |
Binomial name | |
Hoolock leuconedys (Groves, 1967) | |
Eastern hoolock gibbon range |
The eastern hoolock gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys) is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon. This species is found in east of the Chindwin River, such as the Mahamyaing Wildlife Sanctuary, and in south west Yunnan of China. Recent study published in April, 2021, in Internaltional Journal of Primatology confirmed that this species is not found in India as it was thought to be. [3]
Mootnick and Groves [4] stated that hoolock gibbons do not belong in the genus Bunopithecus , and placed them in a new genus, Hoolock . This genus was argued to contain two distinct species which were previously thought to be subspecies: Hoolock hoolock and Hoolock leuconedys. [5] The ranges of the two species are unclear and may overlap, and intermediates may occur. [1]
The eastern hoolock gibbon is a forest-dwelling primate that prefers a continuous canopy, which makes them vulnerable to loss of habitat. They can be found in deciduous or evergreen forests. [1] They also reside in partially deciduous hill forests as well as broadleaf pine forests, and can be found as high as 2,700 m in elevation in northeastern Myanmar. [1] The eastern hoolock gibbon has been found in tropical environments that experience monsoon rains and have cool, dry winters. and lowland tropical environments. [6] [7]
The eastern hoolock gibbon is an omnivorous animal, with fruits making up the majority of its diet at about 65%, with 60% of the fruits being figs. [6] They also eat lichens, invertebrates, bird eggs, plant parts (buds, shoots, leaves, flowers), and insects. [6] The majority of what they eat depends on their location and the density of the available resources, but fruits always show to be their most dominant food type. [6] Gibbon groups sleep in trees that are close to each other, focusing on the tallest canopy trees, and tend to choose areas located either on hilltops or slopes. [6] They also sleep in a fetal position with their arms hugging their knees into their chests. [6] Gibbons are more active in the summer, awaking earlier in the day than in the winter, and socialize more with each other while being awake for about 8–10 hours a day, sleeping shortly before dusk arrives. [6] They have food competition with Malayan giant squirrels, so chase them away from their food resources, but are subject to attacks by thrushes, magpies, and drongos, with the drongos being the most aggressive over food. [6]
The primary threat facing this species is habitat loss and degradation due to human activities, such as logging, mining, construction, and agriculture. [6] They have also suffered the effects of being harvested for meat by ethnic groups in India and for use in folk medicine. [6] In Myanmar, the major threat stems from the effects of commercial logging, and are subject to competition with humans for resources within the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve. [1] Infant gibbons have been known to have been preyed upon by monitor lizards ( Varanus ) and mountain hawk-eagles ( Nisaetus nipalensis ), and larger gibbons have been killed by domestic dogs from local villages while crossing gaps between forests. [7] They are also subject to predation by leopards, pythons, and vultures. [6]
So far, China has created the Gaoligongshan and Tongbiguan National Nature Reserves that currently house small populations of the eastern hoolock gibbon, and the Mahamyaing Sanctuary in Myanmar also acts as a gibbon shelter, as does the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve, which has noted that some gibbons live within its boundaries. [1] Within Arunachal Pradesh, the Forest Department has been working with the Wildlife Trust of India to transfer gibbon groups to the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Biological Park of Itanagar has created a program to captive-breed this species and release them into the wild with the collaboration of the Central Zoo Authority. [1] India has also made killing or capturing the eastern hoolock gibbon illegal, but has few resources to be able to enforce the laws, thus is more focused on protecting larger mammals. [6]
Gibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae. The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India to southern China and Indonesia.
Apes are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, which together with its sister group Cercopithecidae form the catarrhine clade, cladistically making them monkeys. Apes do not have tails due to a mutation of the TBXT gene. In traditional and non-scientific use, the term "ape" can include tailless primates taxonomically considered Cercopithecidae, and is thus not equivalent to the scientific taxon Hominoidea. There are two extant branches of the superfamily Hominoidea: the gibbons, or lesser apes; and the hominids, or great apes.
The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus Hoolock in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China.
The genus Hylobates is one of the four genera of gibbons. Its name means "forest walker", from the Greek hūlē and bates.
Nomascus is the second-most speciose genus of gibbons. Originally, this genus was a subgenus of Hylobates, and all individuals were considered one species, Hylobates concolor. Species within Nomascus are characterized by 52 chromosomes. Some species are all black, some are light with a distinct black tuft of crown fur, and some have distinct, light-colored cheek patches. Nomascus is found from southern China (Yunnan) to southern Vietnam, and also on Hainan Island. One species, Nomascus nasutus, has been deemed "the most critically endangered ape species in the world". All species in this genus are either endangered or critically endangered.
Bunopithecus is an extinct genus of primate represented by one species, Bunopithecus sericus, a gibbon or gibbon-like ape. Its remains were first discovered in Sichuan, China, in strata from the Middle Pleistocene.
Namdapha National Park is a 1,985 km2 (766 sq mi) large protected area in Arunachal Pradesh of Northeast India. The park was established in 1983. With more than 1,000 floral and about 1,400 faunal species, it is a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. The national park harbours the northernmost lowland evergreen rainforests in the world at 27°N latitude. It also harbours extensive dipterocarp forests, comprising the northwestern parts of the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests ecoregion.
The yellow-cheeked gibbon, also called the golden-cheeked gibbon, the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon, the golden-cheeked crested gibbon, the red-cheeked gibbon, or the buffed-cheeked gibbon, is a species of gibbon native to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The species was discovered and named after the British naturalist Gabrielle Maud Vassal.
The Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, formerly known as the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary or Hollongapar Reserved Forest, is an isolated protected area of evergreen forest located in Assam, India. The sanctuary was officially constituted and renamed in 1997. Set aside initially in 1881, its forests used to extend to the foothills of the Patkai mountain range.
The western hoolock gibbon is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. The species is found in Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar west of the Chindwin River.
Ficus neriifolia is a species of fig (Ficus). It is native to Asia, including Bhutan, Burma, China, India, and Nepal.
The Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which occupies the lower hillsides of the mountainous border region joining India, Bangladesh, and Burma (Myanmar). The ecoregion covers an area of 135,600 square kilometres (52,400 sq mi). Located where the biotas of the Indian Subcontinent and Indochina meet, and in the transition between subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, the Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests are home to great biodiversity. The WWF rates the ecoregion as "Globally Outstanding" in biological distinctiveness.
Hkakaborazi National Park is a national park in northern Myanmar with an area of 3,812.46 km2 (1,472.00 sq mi). It was established in 1998. It surrounds Hkakabo Razi, the highest mountain in the country. It ranges in elevation from 900 to 5,710 metres comprising evergreen forest and mixed deciduous forests in Nogmung Township, Kachin State. It is managed by the Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division. It is contiguous with Bumhpa Bum Wildlife Sanctuary and Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. These protected areas together with Hponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary comprise the largest continuous expanse of natural forest called the Northern Forest Complex stretching over an area of 30,105 km2 (11,624 sq mi). Its objective is to conserve the biodiversity of the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin river basins.
Lawachara National Park is a major national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh. The park is located at Kamalganj Upazila, Moulvibazar District in the northeastern region of the country. It is located within the 2,740 ha (27.4 km2) West Bhanugach Reserved Forest.
Anwaruddin Choudhury, M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc., is an Indian naturalist, noted for his expertise on the fauna of North-East India.
Dehing Patkai National Park is located in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam and covers an area of 231.65 km2 (89.44 sq mi) rainforest. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 13 June 2004. On 13 December 2020 Government of Assam upgraded it into a national park. On 9 June 2021 Forest Department of Assam officially notified it as a national park. It is located in the Dehing Patkai Landscape which is a dipterocarp-dominated lowland rainforest. The rainforest stretches for more than 575 km2 (222 sq mi) in the districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Charaideo. The forest further spreads over in the Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Dehing Patkai National Park harbours the largest stretch of lowland rainforests in India. Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve under Project Elephant. Dehing-Patkai as a potential wildlife sanctuary was identified in late 1980s during a primate survey as "Upper Dehing Wildlife Sanctuary". Subsequently during a study on white-winged wood duck in early 1990s, it was discovered as a globally important site for this duck and recommended to be upgraded to "Upper Dehing National Park".
The phylogenetic split of the superfamily Hominoidea (apes) into the Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae families is dated to the early Miocene, roughly 20 to 16 million years ago.
The Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 1989, is the 50th Tiger reserve in India. The Sanctuary is rich with floral and faunal diversity. It is situated in the Lohit District of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The park is named after the Kamlang River which flows through it. The Mishmi, Digaro Mishmi, and Miju Mishmi people tribal people who reside around the periphery of the sanctuary claim their descent from the King Rukmo of the epic Mahabharata. They believe in a myth of an invisible god known as Suto Phenkhenynon jamalu. An important body of water in the sanctuary is the Glow Lake. Located in tropical and sub-tropical climatic zones, the sanctuary is the habitat of the four big cat species of India: tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and snow leopard.
The Skywalker hoolock gibbon or Gaoligong hoolock gibbon is an arboreal primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon and was first described in January 2017 in the American Journal of Primatology. The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is one of two species of Eastern hoolocks: H. tianxing and H. leuconedys. Researchers estimate H. tianxing diverged from H. leuconedys roughly 490,000 years ago. The Eastern hoolock is vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with a population of 310,000-370,000 individuals. Of this population, H. tianxing makes up less than 150 individuals, making the Skywalker hoolock gibbon an endangered species.
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