New species of orangutan found

• Autores: Aylin Woodward
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3151, 2017, pág. 14
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • A new orangutan species has been found in the forests of Sumatra. The Tapanuli orangutan is only the third orangutan species, and the seventh non-human great ape. But they may not last long: there are only 800 and they live in an area smaller than London. People already knew about two species of orangutan: the Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus) and Sumatran (Pongo abelii), both of which are critically endangered. In 2013, a Tapanuli orangutan called Raya died of his wounds after a conflict with locals. Finally, scientists had a Tapanuli ape that they could examine. A team including Michael Krutzen at the University of Zurich in Switzerland compared Raya's skull and teeth with those of 33 other orangutans. His skull was smaller than the other two species', and his canines were wider than Sumatran orangutans'.