SCIENTIFIC NAME: Genus Pongo, species P. pygmacus, zoologically known as Simia Satgrus. The Orangutan is a member of the anthropoid ape family, Pongidae. COMMON NAME: Orangutan - a Malay word meaning ”man of the woods” In Borneo the Dyak name is omias. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The Orangutan stand about 3-5 feet tall. The females being somewhat smaller. Males frequently exceed four feet in height and may attain a weight of 160 pounds. The arm spread of the males can reach seven and one half feet. They have grayish brown skin, and hair that is a rusty reddish brown color that may reach lengths up to a foot or more in certian areas. The cranium is small round and, and has the brain one third the size of man. In Male adults the jaw is very large. A special feature that most male adults have is the presence of a projecting vertical ridge, formed mainly of fibrous connective tissue, on each cheek. These ridges give a disklike form to the face, which may exceed 13 inches in width. Another peculiar feature is the laryngeal airsacs which arise as lateral outgrowths of the mucous membrane of the larynx. These airsacs form a large median sac in front of the neck, stretching clear down to the armpits. They can be inflated and deflated at will. GEOGRAPHY: The Orangutan is mostly found in Borneo and Sumatra, although fossils of teeth have been found in India, southern China and widley sprad over southern Asia. They also formerly inhabited Java. HABITAT: The Orangutan is almost completely arboreal, and show more extreme adaptation than african apes, the chimpanzees, and gorillas. Since the Orangutan lives soley in the tops of the trees it has an awkward gate with little agility, unlike it’s tree life. FOOD: Unlike all other anthropoid apes the Orangutan is not gregarious. It feeds exclusively on fruits, young leaves, and blossoms. It’s fovorie fruits are the durain and the mangosteen. POPULATION STRUCTURE: REPRODUCTIVE STRATEDGY: CURRENT CONDITIONS: REFERENCES: