Scientific name:
Hylobatidae

Natural spread:
Asia

gibbons is southeast-Asian animals and the smallest and easiest apes. There are at least 5 types, other authors distinguish also 9, that are quite similar for itself: the Siamang (Hylobates syndactylus), the mop of hair-gibbon (Hylobates concolor), that Hulock or white-brow-gibbon (Hylobates hoolock), that Biloh or Mentawai-Gibbon (Hylobates klossi) and the Lar or white-hand-gibbon (Hylobates lar). The Lar occurs in its spread-area in several subtypes, that are assessed as own types by some authors. It is this the silver-gibbon (Hylobates lar moloch), that gray gibbon (Hylobates lar muelleri), that Ungka (Hylobates lar agilis) and the cap-gibbon (Hylobates lar pileatus).

Shape Gibbons are d high-specialized Hangelkletterer, whose means-hand-bones and fingers, whose thumbs begun very shortly and unusually deeply, however, are extended very much. h. so to speak poor-upward it slid so that it hardly is usable for grasping. The long, slim fingers are true gripping-hooks for it, that in the club with the overlong arms, when upright standing, they are enough up to the ankles down, the gibbons to the vollendetsten tree and air-acrobats of the primates do. They spend the predominant time on and between the trees. If they come down on the ground once, they always go on the hind legs and balance with the overlong arms in gracefully working manner. They perform with the whole sole on that occasion and touch the ground with the hands occasionally to supporting. its scientific name means the "Baumschreitende" literally, and the gibbons are all the credit to this name.

The tailless body of a gibbon becomes up to 90 cm long. it is with very dense, silken soft hair of very different color covers. Even, there are different fur-colors within a type.

The head is roundish. The nose-holes are somewhat still of each other distant as with the remaining alto-world-monkeys. The spinal column is not S-förmig bent in contrast to that of the remaining apes yet. The powerful shaping of chest and shoulder-muscles comes very much towards the Schwinghangeln.

Reproduction Gibbons bear only a child in each case, that clings to the maternal stomach-fur and hardly disturbs even in the flying Hangelschwung, after 210 days of Tragzeit. The sexually mature steps with approximately 7 years one. An externally visible difference between females and males, there is.

Endangering All gibbons are threatened in its continuance through habitat-destruction. Strongly, already the mop of hair-gibbon (Hylobates concolor) is endangered, that Biloh (Hylobates klossi), the silver-gibbon (Hylobates lar moloch) and the cap-gibbon (Hylobates lar pileatus).