Nomascus is the second-most speciose genus of the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. Originally, this genus was a subgenus of Hylobates, with all individuals considered to be one species, H. concolor.

Species within Nomascus are characterized by 52 chromosomes. Some species are all-black, some are a lighter beige or peach hue, with a distinct black tuft of crown fur, while others have notable, light-colored cheek “patches”. Nomascus is endemic from southern China (Yunnan) to southern Vietnam, and can also be found on Hainan. Every species within this genus are either endangered or critically endangered; the Eastern black crested gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) has been deemed "the most-critically endangered ape species in the world".[2]

Extant species

Genus Nomascus – Miller, 1933 – seven species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Black crested gibbon


Nomascus concolor
(Harlan, 1826)

Four subspecies
  • Tonkin black crested gibbon, Nomascus concolor concolor
  • Laotian black crested gibbon, Nomascus concolor lu
  • Central Yunnan black crested gibbon, Nomascus concolor jingdongensis
  • West Yunnan black crested gibbon, Nomascus concolor furvogaster
China, Laos, and northern Vietnam
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 CR 


Eastern black crested gibbon


Nomascus nasutus
(Künckel d'Herculais, 1884) 		northeast Vietnam
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 CR 


Hainan black crested gibbon

Nomascus hainanus
(Thomas, 1892) 		Hainan Island, China.
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 CR 


Northern white-cheeked gibbon

Nomascus leucogenys
(Ogilby, 1840) 		northern Vietnam and northern Laos
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 CR 


Southern white-cheeked gibbon

Nomascus siki
(Delacour, 1951) 		Vietnam and Laos.
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 EN 


Yellow-cheeked gibbon

Nomascus gabriellae
(Thomas, 1909) 		Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 EN 


Northern buffed-cheeked gibbon


Nomascus annamensis
Thinh et al., 2010 		Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 EN 


Classification

References

  1. ^ a b Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 180–181. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b Geissmann, Thomas (December 1995). "Gibbon systematics and species identification" (PDF). International Zoo News. 42: 467–501. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  3. ^ Thomas Geissmann (April 2007). "Status reassessment of the gibbons: Results of the Asian Primate Red List Workshop 2006". Gibbon Journal (3).
  4. ^ Van Ngoc Thinh; Alan R. Mootnick; Vu Ngoc Thanh; Tilo Nadler; Christian Roos (2010). "A new species of crested gibbon, from the central Annamite mountain range". Vietnamese Journal of Primatology. 1 (4): 1–12.

External links