Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Silverback Gorilla



Silverback Gorilla


Classification
Kingdom: Animialia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammilia
Order: Primates
Family: Hominadae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Gorillini
Genus: Gorilla
Species: Gorilla Beringei



Integumentary System:
The integumentary system in animals is the skin and outside appendages. The Silverback Gorilla has a fur covered integumentary system. There fur is black and in younger to mid-aged Silverbacks there can be found a silver lining on the back of the gorilla. When the gorilla gets very old it can have gray fur. They have five toes including an opposable big toe. They also have five fingers with an opposable thumb. These gorillas have long arms and legs for climbing.

Skeletal/Muscular System:

Skeleton of a gorilla

The Silverback gorilla is a fruit-eating arthopoid ape. They are they strongest of all apes. Their skeletal system is very similar to ours in the types of bones we share with them. Silverbacks use knuckle-walking for locomotion. These gorillas have very long torsos so they hang down. They use their forearms and press their knuckles into the ground. The muscular system of the gorilla is very similiar to humans. Humans and Silverbacks share muscles like the Gluteus Maximus and the Bicep Femoris. Although these gorillas have larger musles in their arms than in their legs because most of their walking comes from walking on their knuckles.




Nervous System:

Silverback gorillas have a very similar nervous system to humans. They have a central nervous system which contains a brain, spinal cord and vertebrae. The vertebrae protects the spinal cord and it's very important for the gorrilas survival.

Respiratory/Circulatory System:

Silverback gorillas have a cardiovascular system. In a cardiovascular system the heart pumps blood into veins and arteries throughout the body. This blood is oxygenated which is helps these gorillas breathe. They get their oxygen by either inhaling through their nose or mouth. It goes into their lungs. They exhale out carbon dioxide.





Digestive System:

Silverback gorillas have a very similar digestive system to humans. They have an esophagus, stomach, colon, large intestine and small intestine. Silverbacks are plant-eaters so the acid content in their colon is much higher than in humans. They have a higher acid content so they can breakdown plants. Plants have cellulose so its harder to breakdown.



Reproduction:

Silverbacks reporuduce sexually with a mate. They start mating at he age of 10. The females gestation period is 8-9 months long and she can have up to 3 babies at a time or less. The newborn weighs about 3-4 pounds. In a female gorillas lifetime they will have 2-6 kids. The babies development is twice as fast as in humans they start crawling at the age of 2 months and they start walking at 9 months. The mother nutures her babies with a lot of care and love.

Other Information:

Silverback gorillas live in tropical rainforests. They consume plants like leafs of trees. Sadly there are only about 800 left in the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Npc5QlS6Iw

















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