The Bornean white-bearded gibbon (''Hylobates albibarbis''), also known as the Bornean agile gibbon or southern gibbon, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

gibbon 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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to southern

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. It is an endangered species, due to the undergoing

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

of the tropical forests, between the Kapuas and Barito rivers. Additional issues are of concern to the endangerment of white-bearded gibbons and threatening to other arboreal primates. The white-bearded gibbon is very similar to other gibbons in their behaviour and their

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

diet. The Bornean white-bearded gibbon was formerly considered a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

agile gibbon The agile gibbon (''Hylobates agilis''), also known as the black-handed gibbon, is an Old World primate in the gibbon family. It is found in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra, Malaysia, and southern Thailand. The species is listed as endangere ...

but based on recent DNA research, some now classify it as a separate species.. p. 37.

About

The Bornean white-bearded gibbon is commonly seen with grey or dark brown fur, a black face, and white beard. Similar to other gibbons, these gibbons are a smaller ape that is tailless. They tend to live in small family groups consisting of a male, female, and their offspring. They express

pair-bonding In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between a mating pair, often leading to the production and rearing of offspring and potentially a lifelong bond. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s that is freque ...

relationships and they do not make nests. Their mode of transportation is called

brachiation Brachiation (from "brachium", Latin for "arm"), or arm swinging, is a form of arboreal locomotion in which primates swing from tree limb to tree limb using only their arms. During brachiation, the body is alternately supported under each forelimb ...

, where they swing from branches to get around. They have been documented to swing up to 15 meters (49.2 feet) in a single leap and as fast as 55 kilometers (34 miles) per hour. Apart from other primates, all gibbons walk

bipedally Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' a ...

; holding their long arms over their heads. The average life span for a white-bearded gibbon is 25 years and grow anywhere from 17 to 25 inches. Male white-bearded gibbons weigh about 6.1 to 6.9 kg (13.5 to 15.2 pounds), and females weigh 5.5 to 6.4 kg (12 to 14 pounds). Female white-bearded gibbons tend to reach sexual maturity in about 48 months.

Diet

The Bornean white-bearded gibbons diet in the tropical forest tends to be frugivorous, where they depend on the abundant of fruit trees and

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

; respectively, making their diet 65% fruit and 23% figs. They will occasionally supplement their diet with leaves and insects.

Threats

Logging and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

have created a threatening environment in Borneo for gibbons and all

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

creatures. Since gibbons rely on dense and tall forest areas for safety and for travelling, this is a leading problem for the survival of white-bearded gibbons. Additional threats for the white-bearded gibbon are

forest fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

due to global warming and climate change.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1721268

Bornean white-bearded gibbon The Bornean white-bearded gibbon (''Hylobates albibarbis''), also known as the Bornean agile gibbon or southern gibbon, is a species of gibbon endemic to southern Borneo. It is an endangered species, due to the undergoing logging of the tropical ...

Endemic fauna of Borneo Primates of Indonesia Mammals of Borneo Endangered fauna of Asia Species endangered by deliberate fires Species endangered by human consumption Species endangered by logging Species endangered by the pet trade Species endangered by wetland drainage

Taxa named by Marcus Ward Lyon Jr.