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Introduction

Overview of the Gibbons and the IUCN Primate Specialist Group Section on Small Apes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2023

Susan M. Cheyne
Affiliation:
Borneo Nature Foundation
Carolyn Thompson
Affiliation:
University College London
Peng-Fei Fan
Affiliation:
Sun Yat-Sen University, China
Helen J. Chatterjee
Affiliation:
University College London
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Summary

Gibbons and siamangs (termed ‘gibbons’ hereafter) are members of the family Hylobatidae and are the smallest of the apes, distinguished by their coordinated duets, territorial songs, arm-swinging locomotion and small family group sizes. They are the most speciose of the apes with four extant genera (Hylobates, Hoolock, Symphalangus and Nomascus) distributed across East and Southeast Asia. Of the 20 species, 95 per cent are considered critically endangered or endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (Rawson et al., 2011; Fan and Bartlett, 2017; IUCN, 2021).

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