Cross River gorilla

Cross River gorilla
Temporal range: Pleistocene to recent
Gorilla at the Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Genus: Gorilla
Species:
G. gorilla
Subspecies:
G. g. diehli
Trinomial name
Gorilla gorilla diehli
(Matschie, 1904)
Distribution range in yellow

The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is a critically endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla). It was named a new species in 1904 by Paul Matschie, a mammalian taxonomist working at the Humboldt University Zoological Museum in Berlin, but its populations were not systematically surveyed until 1987.[3][4]

It is the most western and northern form of gorilla, and is restricted to the forested hills and mountains of the Cameroon-Nigeria border region at the headwaters of the Cross River. It is separated by about 300 km (190 mi) from the nearest population of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and by around 250 km (160 mi) from the gorilla population in the Ebo Forest of Cameroon. Estimates from 2014 suggest that fewer than 250 mature Cross River gorillas remain, making them the world's rarest great ape.[1][5] Groups of these gorillas concentrate their activities in 11 localities across a 12,000 km2 (4,600 sq mi) range, though recent field surveys confirmed the presence of gorillas outside of their known localities suggesting a wider distribution within this range. This distribution is supported by genetic research, which has found evidence that many Cross River gorilla localities continue to maintain contact through the occasional dispersal of individuals.[6] In 2009, the Cross River gorilla was finally captured on professional video on a forested mountain in Cameroon.[5]

  1. ^ a b Bergl, R.A.; Dunn, A.; Fowler, A.; Imong, I.; Ndeloh, D.; Nicholas, A. & Oates, J.F. (2016) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Gorilla gorilla ssp. diehli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T39998A102326240.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ Oates, J.; Sunderland-Groves, J.; Bergl, R.; Dunn, A.; Nicholas, A.; Takang, E.; Omeni, F.; Imong, I.; Fotso, R.; Nkembi, L.; Williamson, E. A. (2007). "Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)" (PDF). IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b "World's rarest gorilla ready for its close-up", EurekAlert, 16 December 2009, retrieved 16 December 2016
  6. ^ Nicholas, A.; Dunn, A.; Warren, Y.; Bergl, R.; Sunderland-Groves, J.; Nkembi, L.; Morgan, B. (2008). "Cross River Gorilla" (PDF). Primates.squarespace. Retrieved 21 October 2013.