| western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) change their activity patterns in response to frugivory. | the most important environmental factor explaining interspecies variation in ecology and sociality of the great apes is likely to be variation in resource availability. relatively little is known about the activity patterns of western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla), which inhabit a dramatically different environment from the well-studied mountain gorillas (g. beringei beringei). this study aims to provide a detailed quantification of western lowland gorillas' activity budgets using d ... | 2009 | 19021124 |
| multigene analysis of phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of primate sucking lice (phthiraptera: anoplura). | cospeciation between hosts and parasites offers a unique opportunity to use information from parasites to infer events in host evolutionary history. although lice (insecta: phthiraptera) are known to cospeciate with their hosts and have frequently served as important markers to infer host evolutionary history, most molecular studies are based on only one or two markers. resulting phylogenies may, therefore, represent gene histories (rather than species histories), and analyses of multiple molecu ... | 2009 | 19027083 |
| 50 years ago in corr: osteoarthritis of the hip in a gorilla: report of a third case robert m. stecher md corr 1958;12:307-314. | | 2009 | 19034599 |
| females shape the genetic structure of a gorilla population. | dispersal, one of the key life-history features of a species, influences gene flow and, consequently, the genetic structuring of populations. landscape characteristics such as rivers, mountains, or habitat fragmentation affect dispersal and result in broad-scale genetic structuring of various mammalian species [1-5]. however, less attention has been paid to studying how dispersal is influenced by finer-scale microgeographic variation in a continuous habitat. here we investigate the genetic struc ... | 2008 | 19036341 |
| species-specific distributions of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the prefrontal cortex of anthropoid primates. | in this study, we assessed the distribution of cortical neurons immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase (th) in prefrontal cortical regions of humans and nonhuman primate species. immunohistochemical methods were used to visualize th-immunoreactive (th-ir) neurons in areas 9 (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and 32 (anterior paracingulate cortex). the study sample included humans, great apes (chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, orangutan), one lesser ape (siamang), and old world monkeys (golden guenon, ... | 2009 | 19041377 |
| origin and biology of simian immunodeficiency virus in wild-living western gorillas. | western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) are infected with a simian immunodeficiency virus (sivgor) that is closely related to chimpanzee and human immunodeficiency viruses (sivcpz and hiv-1, respectively) in west central africa. although existing data suggest a chimpanzee origin for sivgor, a paucity of available sequences has precluded definitive conclusions. here, we report the molecular characterization of one partial (bq664) and three full-length (cp684, cp2135, and cp2139) sivgor ... | 2009 | 19073717 |
| hominid mandibular corpus shape variation and its utility for recognizing species diversity within fossil homo. | mandibular corpora are well represented in the hominin fossil record, yet few studies have rigorously assessed the utility of mandibular corpus morphology for species recognition, particularly with respect to the linear dimensions that are most commonly available. in this study, we explored the extent to which commonly preserved mandibular corpus morphology can be used to: (i) discriminate among extant hominid taxa and (ii) support species designations among fossil specimens assigned to the genu ... | 2008 | 19094183 |
| auto-validating von neumann rejection sampling from small phylogenetic tree spaces. | in phylogenetic inference one is interested in obtaining samples from the posterior distribution over the tree space on the basis of some observed dna sequence data. one of the simplest sampling methods is the rejection sampler due to von neumann. here we introduce an auto-validating version of the rejection sampler, via interval analysis, to rigorously draw samples from posterior distributions over small phylogenetic tree spaces. | 2009 | 19128477 |
| evolution of x-degenerate y chromosome genes in greater apes: conservation of gene content in human and gorilla, but not chimpanzee. | compared with the x chromosome, the mammalian y chromosome is considerably diminished in size and has lost most of its ancestral genes during evolution. interestingly, for the x-degenerate region on the y chromosome, human has retained all 16 genes, while chimpanzee has lost 4 of the 16 genes since the divergence of the two species. to uncover the evolutionary forces governing ape y chromosome degeneration, we determined the complete sequences of the coding exons and splice sites for 16 gorilla ... | 2009 | 19142680 |
| chemical characterization of oligosaccharides in chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, orangutan, and siamang milk or colostrum. | neutral and acidic oligosaccharides were isolated from the milk or colostrum of four great ape species (chimpanzee (pan troglodytes), bonobo (pan paniscus), gorilla (gorilla gorilla), and orangutan (pongo pygmaeus)) and one lesser ape species (siamang (symphalangus syndactylus)), and their chemical structures were characterized by (1)h-nmr spectroscopy. oligosaccharides containing the type ii unit (gal(beta1-4)glcnac) were found exclusively (gorilla and siamang) or predominately (chimpanzee, bon ... | 2009 | 19164487 |
| milk composition of captive vervet monkey (chlorocebus pygerythrus) and rhesus macaque (macaca mulatta) with observations on gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) and white handed gibbon (hylobates lar). | the nutrient content and fatty acid composition of vervet monkey milk has been determined and is compared with rhesus macaque, and two hominoid apes, the white handed gibbon and gorilla. with 15.7+/-4.1 g protein, 33.1+/-9.4 g fat, and 85.1+/-7.5 g lactose per kg milk, vervet monkey milk does not differ from that of rhesus macaque, and is within the range of other primates. small amounts (>1 g kg(-1)) of oligosaccharides, glucose, galactose and fucose were noted. in comparison, gorilla milk has ... | 2009 | 19168147 |
| superior olivary complex organization and cytoarchitecture may be correlated with function and catarrhine primate phylogeny. | in the mammalian auditory system, the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body and the lateral superior olive (mntb-lso system) contribute to binaural intensity processing and lateralization. localization precision varies with the sound frequencies. as recency of common ancestry with human beings increases, primates have improved low-frequency sensitivity and reduced sensitivity to higher frequencies. the medial part of the mntb is devoted to higher frequency processing. thus, its high-frequency-dep ... | 2009 | 19184100 |
| gestural communication of the gorilla (gorilla gorilla): repertoire, intentionality and possible origins. | social groups of gorillas were observed in three captive facilities and one african field site. cases of potential gesture use, totalling 9,540, were filtered by strict criteria for intentionality, giving a corpus of 5,250 instances of intentional gesture use. this indicated a repertoire of 102 gesture types. most repertoire differences between individuals and sites were explicable as a consequence of environmental affordances and sampling effects: overall gesture frequency was a good predictor ... | 2009 | 19184669 |
| gorilla: a tool for discovery and visualization of enriched go terms in ranked gene lists. | since the inception of the go annotation project, a variety of tools have been developed that support exploring and searching the go database. in particular, a variety of tools that perform go enrichment analysis are currently available. most of these tools require as input a target set of genes and a background set and seek enrichment in the target set compared to the background set. a few tools also exist that support analyzing ranked lists. the latter typically rely on simulations or on union ... | 2009 | 19192299 |
| comparing the accuracy and precision of three techniques used for estimating missing landmarks when reconstructing fossil hominin crania. | various methodological approaches have been used for reconstructing fossil hominin remains in order to increase sample sizes and to better understand morphological variation. among these, morphometric quantitative techniques for reconstruction are increasingly common. here we compare the accuracy of three approaches--mean substitution, thin plate splines, and multiple linear regression--for estimating missing landmarks of damaged fossil specimens. comparisons are made varying the number of missi ... | 2009 | 19208416 |
| a burst of segmental duplications in the genome of the african great ape ancestor. | it is generally accepted that the extent of phenotypic change between human and great apes is dissonant with the rate of molecular change. between these two groups, proteins are virtually identical, cytogenetically there are few rearrangements that distinguish ape-human chromosomes, and rates of single-base-pair change and retrotransposon activity have slowed particularly within hominid lineages when compared to rodents or monkeys. studies of gene family evolution indicate that gene loss and gai ... | 2009 | 19212409 |
| estimation of african apes' body size from postcranial dimensions. | we examine how african apes' postcranial skeletal dimensions and their combinations are related to body size, as represented by trunk volume, within sex-specific samples of a total of 39 central chimpanzees (pan troglodytes troglodytes) and 34 western gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla). we examine this relationship by determining the strength of the correlation between selected skeletal dimensions and trunk volume. the findings indicate that sex should be taken into account when possible. most t ... | 2009 | 19221857 |
| hand-clapping as a communicative gesture by wild female swamp gorillas. | hand-clapping is a form of gestural communication commonly observed in captive great apes yet only isolated instances of this behaviour have been documented in the wild. nearly 20 years ago fay recorded the first observations of hand-clapping in western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the central african republic. here we present observations of likouala swamp gorillas using hand-clapping as a form of gestural communication in previously undocumented contexts in the wild. we observ ... | 2009 | 19221858 |
| lethal pneumonia in a captive juvenile chimpanzee (pan troglodytes) due to human-transmitted human respiratory syncytial virus (hrsv) and infection with streptococcus pneumoniae. | during an outbreak of respiratory disease in captive chimpanzees (pan troglodytes), gorillas (gorilla gorilla), bornean orangutans (pongo pygmaeus), and red-capped mangabeys (cercocebus torquatus) also staff members showed non-specific upper respiratory signs. one infant female chimpanzee with severe respiratory symptoms died despite immediate medical treatment and was submitted for necropsy. | 2009 | 19239572 |
| cervical necrotizing fasciitis and myositis in a western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla). | a 39-yr-old wild-caught, female western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) died during an immobilization to assess swelling and apparent pain of the cervical region. necropsy revealed a fistulous tract containing plant material in the oropharynx, above the soft palate, communicating with a left-sided cervical necrotizing fasciitis and myositis. alpha-hemolytic streptococcus and prevotella sp. were isolated from the cervical lesion. this is a report of cervical necrotizing fasciitis in a w ... | 2009 | 19239573 |
| first contact: understanding the relationship between hominoid incisor curvature and diet. | accurately interpreting fossil primate dietary behaviour is necessary to fully understand a species' ecology and connection to its environment. traditional methods developed to infer diet from hominoid teeth successfully group taxa into broad dietary categories (i.e., folivore, frugivore) but often fail to represent the range of dietary variability characteristic of living apes. this oversimplification is not only a consequence of poor resolution, but may also reflect the use of similar fallback ... | 2009 | 19249076 |
| first partial face and upper dentition of the middle miocene hominoid dryopithecus fontani from abocador de can mata (vallès-penedès basin, catalonia, ne spain): taxonomic and phylogenetic implications. | a well-preserved 11.8-million-years-old lower face attributed to the seminal taxon dryopithecus fontani (primates, hominidae) from the catalan site acm/c3-ae of the hostalets de pierola area (vallès-penedès basin, catalonia, ne spain) is described. the new data indicate that d. fontani is distinct at the genus level from late miocene european taxa previously attributed to dryopithecus, which are here reassigned to hispanopithecus. the new facial specimen also suggests that d. fontani and the mid ... | 2009 | 19278017 |
| buccal dental microwear variability in extant african hominoidea: taxonomy versus ecology. | buccal microwear patterns on teeth are good indicators of the abrasiveness of foodstuffs and have been used to trace the dietary habits of fossil species, including primates and hominids. however, few studies have addressed the variability of this microwear. the abrasiveness of dietary components depends not only on the hardness of the particles ingested, but also on the presence of dust and other exogenous elements introduced during food processing. these elements are responsible for the microw ... | 2009 | 19296198 |
| the occurrence and ape-to-ape transmission of the entodiniomorphid ciliate troglodytella abrassarti in captive gorillas. | entodiniomorphid ciliates are often present in the colons of wild apes. in captive apes the infection tends to gradually disappear, with the exception of troglodytella abrassarti. we used fecal examinations to screen the gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in european (czech republic, uk) and australian zoos to explore the ape-to-ape transmission pattern of t. abrassarti. gorillas from two out of three european zoos were positive for t. abrassarti, while gorillas from the australian zoo were nega ... | 2009 | 19335778 |
| automatic annular laser trapping: a system for high-throughput sperm analysis and sorting. | an automatic microscope system is designed to study the response of sperm motility to an annular laser trap. a continuous annular laser trap provides a parallel way to analyze and sort sperm based on their motility and to study the effects of laser radiation, optical force and external obstacles. in the described automatic microscope system, the phase contrast images of swimming sperm are digitized to the computer at video rates. the microscope stage is controlled in real-time to relocate the sp ... | 2009 | 19343697 |
| beyond gorilla and pongo: alternative models for evaluating variation and sexual dimorphism in fossil hominoid samples. | sexual size dimorphism in the postcanine dentition of the late miocene hominoid lufengpithecus lufengensis exceeds that in pongo pygmaeus, demonstrating that the maximum degree of molar size dimorphism in apes is not represented among the extant hominoidea. it has not been established, however, that the molars of pongo are more dimorphic than those of any other living primate. in this study, we used resampling-based methods to compare molar dimorphism in gorilla, pongo, and lufengpithecus to tha ... | 2009 | 19358294 |
| infant cradling in a captive mother gorilla. | the purpose of the study presented here was to investigate the handedness and cradling preferences of a mother gorilla (gorilla gorilla) from the metro toronto zoo. the study also examined preferences for handedness for each member of the captive group. observational data were collected using scan sampling at 60-sec intervals. handedness was determined with a coordinated bimanual tube test using peanut butter spread on the interior of a pvc tube. our findings were largely consistent with the lit ... | 2008 | 19360636 |
| behavioral response of captive western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) to the death of silverbacks in multi-male groups. | in both free-ranging and captive western lowland gorillas, a silverback provides protection and leadership, mediating conflict within a group. in the wild, when a dominant silverback dies the group will disperse or transfer to a solitary male, unless a subsequent male is present to inherit the group. in captivity, studies have focused on groups containing one male and therefore it is unclear how gorillas respond to the death or removal of a silverback in multi-male groups. this study examined th ... | 2010 | 19367612 |
| facility design for bachelor gorilla groups. | this paper emerged from discussions following the bachelor gorilla 2000 workshop facility design sessions. although many ape facility design features are common to all gorillas, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of special needs of bachelor gorillas. for example, managing escalating aggression between maturing or silverback males may require a high degree of caregiver intervention and thus easy access to gorillas both on- and off-exhibit is beneficial. facility design features ... | 2009 | 19367627 |
| sexual behavior in female western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla): evidence for sexual competition. | previous research in gorillas suggests that females engage in post-conception mating as a form of sexual competition designed to improve their own reproductive success. this study focused on sexual behaviors in a newly formed group of western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) housed at zoo atlanta. all females engaged in mating outside their conceptive periods, although there was individual variation in the frequency of the behavior. an analysis of the presence/absence of sexual behavio ... | 2009 | 19399838 |
| a novel food processing technique by a wild mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei). | innovation, the invention of new behavior, has been observed in wild primates only infrequently. the processing of thistle (cardus nyassanus) has previously been described as being one of the most complex food processing techniques used by mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei). we report a case of innovation in thistle leaf processing by a subadult female mountain gorilla in bwindi impenetrable national park, uganda. this technique involved rolling the thistle leaves into a ball between ... | 2009 | 19420959 |
| chimpanzee malaria parasites related to plasmodium ovale in africa. | since the 1970's, the diversity of plasmodium parasites in african great apes has been neglected. surprisingly, p. reichenowi, a chimpanzee parasite, is the only such parasite to have been molecularly characterized. this parasite is closely phylogenetically related to p. falciparum, the principal cause of the greatest malaria burden in humans. studies of malaria parasites from anthropoid primates may provide relevant phylogenetic information, improving our understanding of the origin and evoluti ... | 2009 | 19436742 |
| why do humans have such a prominent nose? the final result of phylogenesis: a significant reduction of the splanchocranium on account of the neurocranium. | during the last few decades several authors tried to clarify the anthropological aspects of the shape of the human nose and why it has so emphasized projection. our hypothesis suggests the essentiality of the role of morphologic changes of the human skull which occurred during the phylogenesis. it seems that erectile posture of the man caused remarkable morphological changes of the skull base shape thus being a part of morphologic evolution. the changes in the shape of the human spine from birth ... | 2009 | 19442453 |
| size and shape variation in the proximal femur of australopithecus africanus. | aside from use as estimates of body mass dimorphism and fore to hind limb joint size comparisons, postcranial elements have not often contributed to assessments of variation in australopithecus africanus. meanwhile, cranial, facial, and dental size variation is interpreted to be high or moderately high. further, the cranial base and face express patterns of structural (shape) variation, which are interpreted by some as evidence for the presence of multiple species. here, the proximal femur is us ... | 2009 | 19446306 |
| gravity and solidity in four great ape species (gorilla gorilla, pongo pygmaeus, pan troglodytes, pan paniscus): vertical and horizontal variations of the table task. | three experiments modeled after infant studies were run on four great ape species (gorilla gorilla, pongo pygmaeus, pan troglodytes, pan paniscus) to investigate their reasoning about solidity and gravity constraints. the aims were: (a) to find out if great apes are subject to gravity biased search or display sensitivity for object solidity, (b) to check for species differences, and (c) to assess if a gravity hypothesis or more parsimonious explanations best account for failures observed. result ... | 2009 | 19450024 |
| logging concessions can extend the conservation estate for central african tropical forests. | the management of tropical forest in timber concessions has been proposed as a solution to prevent further biodiversity loss. the effectiveness of this strategy will likely depend on species-specific, population-level responses to logging. we conducted a survey (749 line transects over 3450 km) in logging concessions (1.2 million ha) in the northern republic of congo to examine the impact of logging on large mammal populations, including endangered species such as the elephant (loxodonta african ... | 2009 | 19453655 |
| patterns of autosomal divergence between the human and chimpanzee genomes support an allopatric model of speciation. | there is a large variation in divergence times across genomic regions between human and chimpanzee. it has been suggested that this could partly result from selection against ancestral gene flow between incipient species in regions of the genome containing genetic incompatibilities. it is possible that such barriers to gene flow could arise in specific genes or in chromosomal inversions. i analysed patterns of lineage sorting that occur between human, chimpanzee and gorilla genomic sequences by ... | 2009 | 19463924 |
| hepatitis b virus infection in non-human primates. | hepatitis b viruses (hbvs) represent a serious public health problem affecting 350 to 400 million hbv carriers worldwide. the virus does not exclusively infect humans, but can also be found in non-human primates as in the families hominidae (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan) and hylobatidae (gibbon), which are distributed over africa (chimpanzee and gorilla) and southeast asia (orangutan and gibbon), the endemic areas of human hbv. the prevalence of asymptomatic hbv carriers reaches in gibbons 23- ... | 2009 | 19537907 |
| comparative 3d quantitative analyses of trapeziometacarpal joint surface curvatures among living catarrhines and fossil hominins. | comparisons of joint surface curvature at the base of the thumb have long been made to discern differences among living and fossil primates in functional capabilities of the hand. however, the complex shape of this joint makes it difficult to quantify differences among taxa. the purpose of this study is to determine whether significant differences in curvature exist among selected catarrhine genera and to compare these genera with hominin fossils in trapeziometacarpal curvature. two 3d approache ... | 2010 | 19544574 |
| novel cytomegaloviruses in free-ranging and captive great apes: phylogenetic evidence for bidirectional horizontal transmission. | wild great apes often suffer from diseases of unknown aetiology. this is among the causes of population declines. because human cytomegalovirus (hcmv) is an important pathogen, especially in immunocompromised individuals, a search for cytomegaloviruses (cmvs) in deceased wild and captive chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans was performed. by using a degenerate pcr targeting four conserved genes (ul54-ul57), several distinct, previously unrecognized cmvs were found for each species. sequences of ... | 2009 | 19553394 |
| mitochondrial insertions into primate nuclear genomes suggest the use of numts as a tool for phylogeny. | homoplasy-free characters are a valuable and highly desired tool for molecular systematics. nuclear sequences of mitochondrial origin (numts) are fragments of mitochondrial dna that have been transferred into the nuclear genome. numts are passively captured into genomes and have no transposition activity, which suggests they may have utility as phylogenetic markers. here, five fully sequenced primate genomes (human, chimpanzee, orangutan, rhesus macaque, and marmoset) are used to reconstruct the ... | 2009 | 19578158 |
| dimensions of the foot muscles in the lowland gorilla. | we dissected the hindlimb of a female western lowland gorilla and determined the muscle dimensions (mass, fascicle length, and physiological cross-sectional area: pcsa). comparisons of the muscle parameters of the measured gorilla with corresponding reported human data demonstrated that the triceps surae muscles were larger and had more capacity to generate force than the other muscle groups in both species, but this tendency was more prominent in the human, probably as an adaptation to strong t ... | 2009 | 19578296 |
| ancestral population genomics: the coalescent hidden markov model approach. | with incomplete lineage sorting (ils), the genealogy of closely related species differs along their genomes. the amount of ils depends on population parameters such as the ancestral effective population sizes and the recombination rate, but also on the number of generations between speciation events. we use a hidden markov model parameterized according to coalescent theory to infer the genealogy along a four-species genome alignment of closely related species and estimate population parameters. ... | 2009 | 19581452 |
| establishment of a continuous culture system for entamoeba muris and analysis of the small subunit rrna gene. | we established a culture system for entamoeba muris (mg-em-01 strain isolated from a mongolian gerbil) using a modified balamuth's egg yolk infusion medium supplemented with 4% adult bovine serum and bacteroides fragilis cocultured with escherichia coli. further, encystation was observed in the culture medium. the morphological characteristics of e. muris are similar to those of entamoeba coli (e. coli); moreover, the malic isoenzyme electrophoretic band, which shows species-specific electrophor ... | 2009 | 19585892 |
| functional consequences of genetic variation in primates on tyrosine hydroxylase (th) expression in vitro. | tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis, is known to contain naturally occurring genetic variation in it's promoter region that associates with a number of neuropsychological disorders. as such, examining non-coding regions is important for understanding tyrosine hydroxylase function in human health and disease. we examined approximately 2 kb upstream of the translation start site within humans and non-human primates to obtain a fine resolution map of evolutiona ... | 2009 | 19591812 |
| transvalued species in an african forest. | we combined ethnographic investigations with repeated ecological transect surveys in the dzanga-sangha dense forest reserve (rds), central african republic, to elucidate consequences of intensifying mixed use of forests. we devised a framework for transvaluation of wildlife species, which means the valuing of species on the basis of their ecological, economic, and symbolic roles in human lives. we measured responses to hunting, tourism, and conservation of two transvalued species in rds: elephan ... | 2009 | 19604297 |
| clinical and research searching on the wild side: exploring the veterinary literature. | zoological medicine furthers the health and well-being of captive and free-ranging wild animals. effective information retrieval of the zoological medicine literature demands searching multiple databases, conference proceedings, and organization websites using a wide variety of keywords and controlled vocabulary. veterinarians, residents, students, and the librarians who serve them must have patience for multiple search iterations to capture the majority of the available knowledge. the complexit ... | 2009 | 19626142 |
| 'infinite loneliness': the life and times of miss congo. | the arrival of miss congo, a female mountain gorilla, in america provided the opportunity for a scientific study of the mental abilities of our close cousin. since the mid-nineteenth century, gorillas had captivated the imagination of the public and scientific community alike. in 1925, psychobiologist robert mearns yerkes was thrilled to gain access to such a rare primate specimen. yerkes' study of 'the mind of a gorilla' reveals how our enduring fascination with the gorilla is driven by conflic ... | 2009 | 19640588 |
| a genetic variant of hepatitis b virus divergent from known human and ape genotypes isolated from a japanese patient and provisionally assigned to new genotype j. | hepatitis b virus (hbv) of a novel genotype (j) was recovered from an 88-year-old japanese patient with hepatocellular carcinoma who had a history of residing in borneo during the world war ii. it was divergent from eight human (a to h) and four ape (chimpanzee, gorilla, gibbon, and orangutan) hbv genotypes, as well as from a recently proposed ninth human genotype i, by 9.9 to 16.5% of the entire genomic sequence and did not have evidence of recombination with any of the nine human genotypes and ... | 2009 | 19640977 |
| a new human immunodeficiency virus derived from gorillas. | we have identified a new human immunodeficiency virus in a cameroonian woman. it is closely related to gorilla simian immunodeficiency virus (sivgor) and shows no evidence of recombination with other hiv-1 lineages. this new virus seems to be the prototype of a new hiv-1 lineage that is distinct from hiv-1 groups m, n and o. we propose to designate it hiv-1 group p. | 2009 | 19648927 |
| why do gorillas make sequences of gestures? | great ape gestures have attracted considerable research interest in recent years, prompted by their flexible and intentional pattern of use; but almost all studies have focused on single gestures. here, we report the first quantitative analysis of sequential gesture use in western gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla), using data from three captive groups and one african study site. we found no evidence that gesture sequences were given for reasons of increased communicative efficiency over single ... | 2010 | 19649664 |
| evolution of major histocompatibility complex g and c and natural killer receptors in primates. | major histocompatibility complex (mhc)-g and -c molecules bear ligands to natural killer immunoglobulin receptors (kir). mhc-g evolution in primates shows some anomalies. in new world monkeys mhc-g molecules show a high polymorphism and most likely are classical antigen presenters; they also cluster closer to mhc-e in a relatedness dendrogram. their genes lack intron 2 deletion, which is typical of all other primates in regard to mhc-g. medium-sized eurasian-african monkeys (cercopithecinae) sho ... | 2009 | 19651181 |
| independent evolution of knuckle-walking in african apes shows that humans did not evolve from a knuckle-walking ancestor. | despite decades of debate, it remains unclear whether human bipedalism evolved from a terrestrial knuckle-walking ancestor or from a more generalized, arboreal ape ancestor. proponents of the knuckle-walking hypothesis focused on the wrist and hand to find morphological evidence of this behavior in the human fossil record. these studies, however, have not examined variation or development of purported knuckle-walking features in apes or other primates, data that are critical to resolution of thi ... | 2009 | 19667206 |
| body size and its consequences: allometry and the lower limb length of liang bua 1 (homo floresiensis). | bivariate femoral length allometry in recent humans, pan, and gorilla is investigated with special reference to the diminutive liang bua (lb) 1 specimen (the holotype of homo floresiensis) and six early pleistocene femora referred to the genus homo. relative to predicted body mass, pan and gorilla femora show strong negative length allometry while recent human femora evince isometry to positive allometry, depending on sample composition and line-fitting technique employed. the allometric traject ... | 2009 | 19674770 |
| does early care affect joint attention in great apes (pan troglodytes, pan paniscus, pongo abelii, pongo pygmaeus, gorilla gorilla)? | the ability to share attention with another is the foundation on which other theory of mind skills are formed. the quality of care received during infancy has been correlated with increased joint attention in humans. the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of care style (responsive or basic) and caregiver type (ape or human) during the first 6 months on joint attention in 4 great ape species (pan troglodytes, gorilla gorilla, pongo spp., and pan pansicus). great apes engaged in joint ... | 2009 | 19685976 |
| infanticide and social flexibility in the genus gorilla. | based on the cases of infanticide by male mountain gorillas reported from the virunga volcanic region, the socioecological and life history features of gorillas satisfy the conditions for which infanticide may be expected. however, there are considerable variations in the occurrence of infanticide between habitats. we analyze the recent reports of infanticides that were directly observed or are suspected based on field evidence in two populations of eastern and western lowland gorillas (kahuzi a ... | 2009 | 19688234 |
| the vertebral formula of the last common ancestor of african apes and humans. | the modal number of lumbar vertebrae in modern humans is five. it varies between three and four in extant african apes (mean=3.5). because both chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) and gorillas (gorilla gorilla) possess the same distributions of thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae, it has been assumed from parsimony that the last common ancestor (lca) of african apes and humans possessed a similarly short lower back. this "short-backed lca" scenario has recently been viewed favorably in an analysis ... | 2010 | 19688850 |
| the strategic use of sex in wild female western gorillas. | human females, unlike most mammals, are sexually active outside of fertile periods. this decoupling of sexual behavior from its conceptive function has had an enormous impact on human social relationships, and yet we know little about why there was selection for nonconceptive mating. here we examine one form of nonconceptive mating, the mating that occurs during pregnancy or post-conceptive (pc) mating, in wild western gorillas (gorilla gorilla). using a near complete mating record for five fema ... | 2009 | 19722225 |
| recent de novo origin of human protein-coding genes. | the origin of new genes is extremely important to evolutionary innovation. most new genes arise from existing genes through duplication or recombination. the origin of new genes from noncoding dna is extremely rare, and very few eukaryotic examples are known. we present evidence for the de novo origin of at least three human protein-coding genes since the divergence with chimp. each of these genes has no protein-coding homologs in any other genome, but is supported by evidence from expression an ... | 2009 | 19726446 |
| kinematic parameters inferred from enamel microstructure: new insights into the diet of australopithecus anamensis. | the dietary adaptations of australopithecus anamensis are contentious, with suggestions that range from soft fruits to hard, brittle, tough, and abrasive foods. it is unlikely that all propositions are equally valid, however. here we extend recent finite element (fe) analyses of enamel microstructure (shimizu and macho, 2008) to enquire about the range of loading directions (i.e., kinematics) to which a. anamensis enamel microstructure/molars could safely be subjected. the rationale underlying t ... | 2010 | 19783029 |
| mitochondrial coii introgression into the nuclear genome of gorilla gorilla. | numts are nonfunctional mitochondrial sequences that have translocated into nuclear dna, where they evolve independently from the original mitochondrial dna (mtdna) sequence. numts can be unintentionally amplified in addition to authentic mtdna, complicating both the analysis and interpretation of mtdna-based studies. amplification of numts creates particular issues for studies on the noncoding, hypervariable 1 mtdna region of gorillas. we provide data on putative numt sequences of the coding mi ... | 2008 | 19802374 |
| morphological and molecular evidence reveals recent hybridization between gorilla taxa. | molecular studies have demonstrated a deep lineage split between the two gorilla species, as well as divisions within these taxa; estimates place this divergence in the mid-pleistocene, with gene flow continuing until approximately 80,000 years ago. here, we present analyses of skeletal data indicating the presence of substantial recent gene flow among gorillas at all taxonomic levels: between populations, subspecies, and species. complementary analyses of dna sequence variation suggest that low ... | 2010 | 19804402 |
| combining prehension and propulsion: the foot of ardipithecus ramidus. | several elements of the ardipithecus ramidus foot are preserved, primarily in the ara-vp-6/500 partial skeleton. the foot has a widely abducent hallux, which was not propulsive during terrestrial bipedality. however, it lacks the highly derived tarsometatarsal laxity and inversion in extant african apes that provide maximum conformity to substrates during vertical climbing. instead, it exhibits primitive characters that maintain plantar rigidity from foot-flat through toe-off, reminiscent of som ... | 2009 | 19810198 |
| root growth during molar eruption in extant great apes. | while there is gradually accumulating knowledge about molar crown formation and the timing of molar eruption in extant great apes, very little is known about root formation during the eruption process. we measured mandibular first and second molar root lengths in extant great ape osteological specimens that died while either the first or second molars were in the process of erupting. for most specimens, teeth were removed so that root lengths could be measured directly. when this was not possibl ... | 2009 | 19828983 |
| a survey of entodiniomorphid ciliates in chimpanzees and bonobos. | intestinal entodiniomorphid ciliates are commonly diagnosed in the feces of wild apes of the genera pan and gorilla. although some authors previously considered entodiniomorphid ciliates as possible pathogens, a symbiotic function within the intestinal ecosystem and their participation in fiber fermentation has been proposed. previous studies have suggested that these ciliates gradually disappear under captive conditions. we studied entodiniomorphid ciliates in 23 captive groups of chimpanzees, ... | 2010 | 19845028 |
| the influence of fallback foods on great ape tooth enamel. | lucas and colleagues recently proposed a model based on fracture and deformation concepts to describe how mammalian tooth enamel may be adapted to the mechanical demands of diet (lucas et al.: bioessays 30 2008 374-385). here we review the applicability of that model by examining existing data on the food mechanical properties and enamel morphology of great apes (pan, pongo, and gorilla). particular attention is paid to whether the consumption of fallback foods is likely to play a key role in in ... | 2009 | 19890852 |
| fallback foods and dietary partitioning among pan and gorilla. | recent findings on the strong preference of gorillas for fruits and the large dietary overlap between sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees has led to a debate over the folivorous/frugivorous dichotomy and resource partitioning. to add insight to these arguments, we analyze the diets of sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees inhabiting the montane forest of kahuzi-biega national park (drc) using a new definition of fallback foods (marshall and wrangham: int j primatol 28 [2007] 1219-1235). we determine ... | 2009 | 19890854 |
| male and female western gorilla diet: preferred foods, use of fallback resources, and implications for ape versus old world monkey foraging strategies. | most of what is currently known about western gorilla (gorilla gorilla) diet is based on indirect studies using fecal samples and trail signs rather than measures based on direct observations. here we report results on adult male and female western gorilla foraging behavior, based on systematic focal observations and nutritional analyses of foods. we found that western gorillas, like other apes, are highly selective ripe fruit specialists, seeking fruit high in energy, low in antifeedants, and r ... | 2009 | 19890869 |
| ensembl's 10th year. | ensembl (http://www.ensembl.org) integrates genomic information for a comprehensive set of chordate genomes with a particular focus on resources for human, mouse, rat, zebrafish and other high-value sequenced genomes. we provide complete gene annotations for all supported species in addition to specific resources that target genome variation, function and evolution. ensembl data is accessible in a variety of formats including via our genome browser, api and biomart. this year marks the tenth ann ... | 2010 | 19906699 |
| molecular epidemiology of simian immunodeficiency virus infection in wild-living gorillas. | chimpanzees and gorillas are the only nonhuman primates known to harbor viruses closely related to hiv-1. phylogenetic analyses showed that gorillas acquired the simian immunodeficiency virus sivgor from chimpanzees, and viruses from the sivcpz/sivgor lineage have been transmitted to humans on at least four occasions, leading to hiv-1 groups m, n, o, and p. to determine the geographic distribution, prevalence, and species association of sivgor, we conducted a comprehensive molecular epidemiologi ... | 2010 | 19906908 |
| lymphocryptovirus phylogeny and the origins of epstein-barr virus. | specimens from wild and captive primates were collected and novel members of the genus lymphocryptovirus (subfamily gammaherpesvirinae) were searched for utilizing pcr for the dna polymerase gene. twenty-one novel viruses were detected. together with previous findings, more than 50 distinct lymphocryptoviruses (lcvs) are now known, with hosts from six primate families (hominidae, hylobatidae, cercopithecidae, atelidae, cebidae and pitheciidae). further work extended genomic sequences for 25 lcvs ... | 2010 | 19923263 |
| the kinematics of load carrying in humans and great apes: implications for the evolution of human bipedalism. | we present a comparison of loaded and unloaded carrying kinematics in humans, common chimpanzees (pan troglodytes), bonobos (pan paniscus), western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) and bornean and sumatran orang-utans (pongo pygmaeus and pongo abelii). human hindlimb joint and segment angles were collected during treadmill locomotion using infrared motion analysis cameras. non-human primate fore- and hindlimb joint and segment angles were collected at zoos during free-ranging locomotio ... | 2009 | 19923843 |
| are the gorillas in bwindi impenetrable national park "true" mountain gorillas? | the gorillas that inhabit bwindi impenetrable national park in uganda are the least known of the eastern gorillas. because they are an allopatric population living a minimum of 25 km from the well-studied population of mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei) in rwanda and have certain morphological and ecological differences from these gorillas, their taxonomic status has been in question in recent years. this study presents new craniodental metrics from bwindi individuals and compares the ... | 2010 | 19927278 |
| early concepts of the anthropomorpha. | from man's earliest observations of apes the tendency has been to stress the degree of resemblance between human and anthropoid. hanno (c. 500 bc) referred to the gorillas as "savage people." duarte lopez (1578) and tulp (1640) noted the extent to which apes "counterfeit the countenance, the fashions, and the actions of men." battell (1625) declared that they walked erect, built shelters and buried their dead. natives of the natural habitat of the apes, java and africa, named them respectively " ... | 1962 | 19928330 |
| token transfers among great apes (gorilla gorilla, pongo pygmaeus, pan paniscus, and pan troglodytes): species differences, gestural requests, and reciprocal exchange. | great apes appear to be the nonhuman primates most capable of recognizing trading opportunities and engaging in transfers of commodities with conspecifics. spontaneous exchange of goods between them has not yet been reported. we tested gorillas (gorilla gorilla), orangutans (pongo pygmaeus), bonobos (pan paniscus), and chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) in a token-exchange task involving two conspecifics and a human experimenter. tested in pairs, subjects had to exchange tokens with a partner to obta ... | 2009 | 19929106 |
| malaria from a zoological point of view: (section of comparative medicine). | protozoal parasites occurring in the red cells of mammals are: hepatozoon, babesia, theileria and plasmodium. the frequency with which these forms occur differs considerably in the different mammalian orders. but whilst there is a relationship apparent between the mammalian stem and the form of parasite, there appears to be an even closer association with the type of blood-sucking arthropods which the mode of life of the animals in a particular stem favours. ungulates in the days of their greate ... | 1934 | 19989868 |
| molecular characterization of pneumococcal isolates from pets and laboratory animals. | between 1986 and 2008 streptococcus pneumoniae was isolated from 41 pets/zoo animals (guinea pigs (n = 17), cats (n = 12), horses (n = 4), dogs (n = 3), dolphins (n = 2), rat (n = 2), gorilla (n = 1)) treated in medical veterinary laboratories and zoos, and 44 laboratory animals (mastomys (multimammate mice; n = 32), mice (n = 6), rats (n = 4), guinea pigs (n = 2)) during routine health monitoring in an animal facility. s. pneumoniae was isolated from nose, lung and respiratory tract, eye, ear a ... | 2009 | 20011527 |
| how ebola impacts genetics of western lowland gorilla populations. | emerging infectious diseases in wildlife are major threats for both human health and biodiversity conservation. infectious diseases can have serious consequences for the genetic diversity of populations, which could enhance the species' extinction probability. the ebola epizootic in western and central africa induced more than 90% mortality in western lowland gorilla population. although mortality rates are very high, the impacts of ebola on genetic diversity of western lowland gorilla have neve ... | 2009 | 20020045 |
| snar genes: recent descendants of alu involved in the evolution of chorionic gonadotropins. | we identified a novel family of human noncoding rnas by in vivo cross-linking to the nuclear factor 90 (nf90) protein. these small nf90-associated rnas (snars) are transcribed by rna polymerase iii and display restricted tissue distribution, with high expression in testis and discrete areas of the brain. the most abundant human transcript, snar-a, interacts with the cell's transcription and translation systems. snar genes have evolved in african great apes (human, chimpanzee, and gorilla) and so ... | 2009 | 20028844 |
| brief communication: captive gorillas are right-handed for bimanual feeding. | predominance of right-handedness has historically been considered as a hallmark of human evolution. whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level manual bias remains a controversial topic. here, we investigated the hypothesis that bimanual coordinated activities may be a key-behavior in our ancestors for the emergence and evolution of human population-level right-handedness. to this end, we collected data on hand preferences in 35 captive gorillas (gorilla gorilla) during simple unimanual r ... | 2010 | 20033918 |
| the road to therapeutic rna interference (rnai): tackling the 800 pound sirna delivery gorilla. | if those of us privileged enough to have the opportunity to work towards curing human diseases had the power to design the ideal therapeutic molecule, the question would be what selection criteria would we choose? arguably, at the top of the list would be four mandatory properties: specificity, potency, tolerability, and universality. so it should come as no surprise the momentum associated with the field of small interfering rna (sirna)-induced rna interference (rnai) therapeutics has gained st ... | 2009 | 20040280 |
| great apes track hidden objects after changes in the objects' position and in subject's orientation. | eight chimpanzees (pan troglodytes), five bonobos (pan paniscus), five gorillas (gorilla gorilla), and seven orangutans (pongo pygmaeus) were presented with two invisible object displacement tasks. in full view of the subject, a food item was hidden under one of three opaque cups resting on a platform and, after an experimental manipulation, the subject was allowed to select one of the cups. in the rotation task, the platform was rotated 180 degrees while the subject remained stationary. in the ... | 2010 | 20052693 |
| triadic and collaborative play by gorillas in social games with objects. | interaction with others over objects has until recently been thought lacking in the social play of non-human great apes, in contrast to that of children; even now, only bonobos have been observed to engage in social play involving objects. human children's triadic interactions with objects involve joint attention, showing and giving, communication that maintains interaction, and sharing of emotions and experiences. we question assertions that chimpanzees, and non-human great apes in general, lac ... | 2010 | 20066451 |
| a highly conserved pericentromeric domain in human and gorilla chromosomes. | significant similarity between human and gorilla genomes has been found in all chromosome arms, but not in centromeres, using whole-comparative genomic hybridization (w-cgh). in human chromosomes, centromeric regions, generally containing highly repetitive dnas, are characterized by the presence of specific human dna sequences and an absence of homology with gorilla dna sequences. the only exception is the pericentromeric area of human chromosome 9, which, in addition to a large block of human d ... | 2010 | 20068296 |
| dental wear, wear rate, and dental disease in the african apes. | the african apes possess thinner enamel than do other hominoids, and a certain amount of dentin exposure may be advantageous in the processing of tough diets eaten by gorilla. dental wear (attrition plus abrasion) that erodes the enamel exposes the underlying dentin and creates additional cutting edges at the dentin-enamel junction. hypothetically, efficiency of food processing increases with junction formation until an optimal amount is reached, but excessive wear hinders efficient food process ... | 2010 | 20077466 |
| dental development and life history in living african and asian apes. | life-history inference is an important aim of paleoprimatology, but life histories cannot be discerned directly from the fossil record. among extant primates, the timing of many life-history attributes is correlated with the age at emergence of the first permanent molar (m1), which can therefore serve as a means to directly compare the life histories of fossil and extant species. to date, m1 emergence ages exist for only a small fraction of extant primate species and consist primarily of data fr ... | 2010 | 20080537 |
| using behavior to determine immature life-stages in captive western gorillas. | ontogenic development is divided into infant, juvenile, adolescent and adult life-stages. although the developmental trajectory of an individual is a flexible entity, which differs within species, environment and sex, life-stage classifications are generally structured, age-based systems. this invariably leads to rigidity within a dynamic system and consequently hampers our understanding of primate life history strategies. we propose that life-stage classifications should be quantitative, flexib ... | 2010 | 20082439 |
| geometric morphometric analyses of hominid proximal femora: taxonomic and phylogenetic considerations. | the proximal femur has long been used to distinguish fossil hominin taxa. specifically, the genus homo is said to be characterized by larger femoral heads, shorter femoral necks, and more lateral flare of the greater trochanter than are members of the genera australopithecus or paranthropus. here, a digitizing arm was used to collect landmark data on recent human (n=82), chimpanzee (n=16), and gorilla (n=20) femora and casts of six fossil hominin femora in order to test whether one can discrimin ... | 2010 | 20096410 |
| identification of human specific gene duplications relative to other primates by array cgh and quantitative pcr. | in order to identify human lineage specific (hls) copy number differences (cnds) compared to other primates, we performed pair wise comparisons (human vs. chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan) by using cdna array comparative genomic hybridization (cgh). a set of 23 genes with hls duplications were identified, as well as other lineage differences in gene copy number specific of chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan. each species has gained more copies of specific genes rather than losing gene copies. el ... | 2010 | 20153417 |
| the pattern of the arterial supply of the pancreas in anthropoid apes, catarrhine monkeys and platyrrhine monkeys. | to get the full understanding of the arterial distribution to the pancreas, the analysis of the distribution of the variety of monkey species would be helpful. in this study, we studied the layout of the pancreatic artery in anthropoids (1 gorilla, 3 chimpanzees and 2 white-handed gibbons), in catarrhine monkeys (1 hamadryas baboon, 2 anubid baboons, 10 savannah monkeys) and in platyrrhine monkeys (6 squirrel monkeys). the pancreas of the monkeys was supplied by the arteries originating from the ... | 2009 | 20166548 |
| a survey of chimpanzees (pan troglodytes troglodytes) and gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the selectively logged ngotto forest, central african republic. | currently, the timber company industrie forestiere du batalimo is selectively logging the ngotto forest in the central african republic. the forest is home to a population of chimpanzees (pan troglodytes troglodytes) and gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) and provides the bofi-speaking people of grima with food, medicine, housing material, and other commodities. over a 7-month period, the research team conducted a line-transect survey of the great ape population in the forests to the south of gr ... | 2009 | 20183473 |
| individually identifiable body odors are produced by the gorilla and discriminated by humans. | many species produce odor cues that enable them to be identified individually, as well as providing other socially relevant information. study of the role of odor cues in the social behavior of great apes is noticeable by its absence. olfaction has been viewed as having little role in guiding behavior in these species. this study examined whether western lowland gorillas produce an individually identifiable odor. odor samples were obtained by placing cloths in the gorilla's den. a delayed matchi ... | 2010 | 20190006 |
| vertebrate dna in fecal samples from bonobos and gorillas: evidence for meat consumption or artefact? | deciphering the behavioral repertoire of great apes is a challenge for several reasons. first, due to their elusive behavior in dense forest environments, great ape populations are often difficult to observe. second, members of the genus pan are known to display a great variety in their behavioral repertoire; thus, observations from one population are not necessarily representative for other populations. for example, bonobos (pan paniscus) are generally believed to consume almost no vertebrate p ... | 2010 | 20195539 |
| cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation on the captive western lowlands gorilla. | | 2010 | 20218263 |
| handedness in captive gorillas (gorilla gorilla). | species-level right handedness is frequently presented as a marker of human uniqueness. handedness also has implications for the evolution of language and cognition. in this study, we examined handedness in 22 captive gorillas (gorilla gorilla) across a range of behaviours that were part of their daily routine. ten individuals showed no preferences for any of the behaviours performed, and the majority of the remaining individuals showed a preference for only one behaviour. these results lend sup ... | 2010 | 20224914 |
| a legacy of low-impact logging does not elevate prevalence of potentially pathogenic protozoa in free-ranging gorillas and chimpanzees in the republic of congo: logging and parasitism in african apes. | many studies have examined the long-term effects of selective logging on the abundance and diversity of free-ranging primates. logging is known to reduce the abundance of some primate species through associated hunting and the loss of food trees for frugivores; however, the potential role of pathogens in such primate population declines is largely unexplored. selective logging results in a suite of alterations in host ecology and forest structure that may alter pathogen dynamics in resident wild ... | 2010 | 20238141 |
| the external genitalia of the gorilla, gorilla gorilla gorilla (savage & wyman). | | 1947 | 20258875 |
| notes on the upper extremity of the gorilla; clinical application. | | 1946 | 20289407 |
| prezygapophyseal articular facet shape in the catarrhine thoracolumbar vertebral column. | two contrasting patterns of lumbar vertebral morphology generally characterize anthropoids. "long-backed" monkeys are distinguished from "short-backed" apes [benton: the baboon in medical research, vol. 2 (1967:201)] with respect to several vertebral features thought to afford greater spinal flexibility in the former and spinal rigidity in the latter. yet, discussions of spinal mobility are lacking important functional insight that can be gained by analysis of the zygapophyses, the spine's synov ... | 2010 | 20310062 |
| a psychogeriatrician's home visit to the zoo: a case report. | psychogeriatricians commonly undertake home visits, often under unusual and sometimes challenging circumstances. we report a home visit to a zoo to see an unusual case, a 49-year-old confused gorilla. a diagnosis of post-infarct delirium was made, subsequently validated by autopsy. we describe a primate observation scale which was used in the assessment of cognition this case, which may be helpful for use when cognitive assessment of primates is required. | 2010 | 20367891 |