External Features
Silverback Gorillas are ground dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa!
Wild male gorillas weigh 300 to 400 lb while adult females usually weigh half as much as adult males at 150–250 lb.
Adult males are 5.6 to 5.9 ft tall, with an arm span that streaches from 7.5 to 8.5 ft. Female gorillas are shorter with smaller arm spans.
Gorilla facial structure is described as Mandibular Prognathism. That means, the mandible (lower jaw or jaw bone) protrudes farther out than the maxilla(fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest (a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull).
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla. The mountain gorilla is the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead.
Gorillas have a distinctive shape in that their stomachs are larger than their chests. Their stomach size is because of their enlarged intestines, which digest the large vegetation they consume.
Wild male gorillas weigh 300 to 400 lb while adult females usually weigh half as much as adult males at 150–250 lb.
Adult males are 5.6 to 5.9 ft tall, with an arm span that streaches from 7.5 to 8.5 ft. Female gorillas are shorter with smaller arm spans.
Gorilla facial structure is described as Mandibular Prognathism. That means, the mandible (lower jaw or jaw bone) protrudes farther out than the maxilla(fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest (a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull).
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla. The mountain gorilla is the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead.
Gorillas have a distinctive shape in that their stomachs are larger than their chests. Their stomach size is because of their enlarged intestines, which digest the large vegetation they consume.