Mountain gorillas are descendants of ancestral monkeys and apes found in Africa and Arabia during the start of the Oligocene epoch, which was approximately 34-24 million years ago. .
The fossil record provides evidence of the hominoid primates found in East Africa about 18-22 million years ago. .
The fossil record of the area where mountain gorillas live is particularly poor, which makes the evolutionary history somewhat unclear. Approximately 9 million years ago was when the genus Gorilla emerged. Evidence shows that the early relative to the mountain gorilla is Proconsul Africanus.
The genus gorilla was first referenced as the genus Troglodytes in 1847 but then renamed to Gorilla in 1852. .
Taxonomist Colin Groves proposed that all gorillas be regarded as one species (Gorilla gorilla) with three subspecies: .
1. Gorilla gorilla beringei (mountain gorillas).
2. Gorilla gorilla gorilla (Western lowland gorilla).
3. Gorilla gorilla graueri (lowland gorillas found west of the Virungas).
In 2003, the mountain gorilla was divided into two species (Gorilla gorilla & Gorilla beringei) by The World Conservation Union. .
Physical Description.
Fur is thicker and longer than that of any other gorilla species and enables them to live in colder temperatures. They are covered with dark brownish hair. They have no hair on their fingers, palms, face, armpits, and bottoms of their feet. Adult males are called Silverbacks because a saddle of grey or silver hair develops on their backs with age. They have very long arms (arms longer than legs), and a short, bulky body with a wide crest. They also have no tail.
Gorillas can be identified by nose prints unique to each individual.
Males weigh twice as much as females. Males have a more pronounced sagittal crest on the top and back of their skulls, giving their heads a more conical shape. These crests anchor the temporal muscles, which attach to the mandible. Dental formula is 2:1:2:3.
He kept a daily journal while crossing the Rocky Mountains near Alberta in winter of 1811 (Parkash). ... Traits of Bigfoot help people understand more of the creature. ... However, it is believed to share many traits with the gorilla, including its intelligence. ... Naturalist Frank Beebe says, "If I were out in the mountains and saw a thing like this one, I wouldn't shoot it. ...
