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Order : PRIMATES
Family : Hylobatidae
Species : Hylobates moloch
Head-body length : 45-64 cm
Tail length : no tail
Weight : up to 9 kg
The Javan Gibbon, also
called the Silvery Gibbon or 'Owa Jawa', inhabits tall, primary forest on the island of Java.
As nearly all tall, lowland forest on Java is now gone, this species
survives in fragmented forests on the slopes of mountains and volcanoes,
either active or extinct. This is the only gibbon species living on the
island.
According to a review of the species status by
IUCN
in 2008, less than 2500 individuals of this gibbon survive in the wild, and it is thus listed as 'Endangered'.
Its fur is typically described as 'silvery-grey' but in many specimens it is
brownish. The facial skin is very dark, and this is framed above and
below by pale fur on the brow and chin. Sometimes the cheeks are pale too,
thus the entire face may be framed with pale fur.
In
some specimens the top of the head (the 'cap') is much darker, but in other
specimens this feature is absent.
In the morning the female produces complex, loud, hooting calls
which may carry several kilometres. The males also vocalizes, but his calls
are apparently limited to simple 'hoots'.
As with all gibbons, this species is diurnal and arboreal, rarely coming to
ground. It subsists mainly on forest fruits, as well as young
leaves, flowers and, reportedly, occasional insects.
The species is endemic to Java, occurring only in suitable forest in the provinces of West Java
and Central Java.
Fig 1 : Adult specimen photographed at
Mount Halimun, West Java, Indonesia at around 1000 metres elevation. Photo
thanks to
Andie Ang.
References :
IUCN
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