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Although most people could probably tell a gorilla hand and a human hand apart, humans and gorillas are close relatives that share many similarities under their fur and skin. If they are so similar, what makes human and gorilla hands different? This article explores some of the interesting similarities and differences between human and gorilla hands.

What are Gorillas?

A male eastern lowland gorilla sits in the brush.
PhotocechCZ/Shutterstock.com

Gorillas are large terrestrial mammals that live in Africa primarily in Rwanda, the Congo, Uganda, Angola, Cameroon, Central Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria depending on the subspecies. There are two species of gorilla and four subspecies: western gorillas (including western lowland gorillas and Cross River gorillas) and eastern gorillas (including eastern lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas).

Gorillas belong to the order Primates. They are the largest primate on Earth and are a member of the great apes. As such, they are closely related to orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. The lineage that includes chimpanzees and humans diverged from a common ancestor with gorillas about 8 to 10 million years ago. Considering the timeline of mammal evolution (with the first mammal arising 65 million years ago), this is quite recent! The close evolutionary histories of gorillas and humans have allowed for many similarities to appear between the species.

What is unique about primate hands?

This infant gorilla is using its opposable thumb to grasp and chew on a stick.
iStock.com/nantonov

Primates are unique in the animal kingdom because of their opposable thumbs. Only a few mammals other than primates have opposable thumbs, such as opossums, koalas, and panda bears. The only primates with non-opposable thumbs are marmosets and tarsiers. New world monkeys including capuchins and lemurs have a pseudo-opposable thumb that is not truly opposable but does have some functionality. Old world monkeys including the great apes, baboons, macaques, and others have opposable thumbs like humans.

Gorilla hands share this trait with humans. Having an opposable thumb allows for greater dexterity, tool use, and social interactions. Gorillas are also documented using various gestures for communication, including social grooming. They also use a large array of tools such as rocks and sticks for processing food. Interestingly, in California, a female gorilla by the name of Koko was taught over 1000 different signs for American sign language and could effectively communicate with her handlers. She could understand over 2,000 spoken words and could respond with sign language.

How do gorillas walk?

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) knuckle-walking.
Roman Samokhin/Shutterstock.com

Gorillas locomote, or walk around, via knuckle-walking. Knuckle-walking is a form of quadrupedal locomotion which is movement on four feet. During knuckle-walking, the ape bends its fingers on its front hands (not quite in a fist) and their middle knuckles strike the ground. Gorillas are the most terrestrial of the non-human great ape species. Some other apes, like orangutans, are arboreal, meaning they spend more of their time in the trees than on the ground like terrestrial species. Arboreal monkey and ape species rely on brachiation, swinging from branch to branch, more so than quadrupedalism. Gorillas have specialized adaptations to support knuckle-walking that are evident in their hand structure.

Bone structure in the hands and forearms of gorillas reflect adaptations to support their immense weight during knuckle-walking. Repetitive stress loads on bones and ligaments can cause deterioration and stress fractures. Therefore, gorillas have unique forearm and wrist bones that interlock to create a stable structure. In their hands, the third metacarpal bone is uniquely evolved for knuckle-walking. The bone shape is slightly different and it has a ridge that prevents joint hyperextension during knuckle-walking. These bone features only exist in knuckle-walking apes. For more on gorilla metacarpal morphology and knuckle-walking, read here.

The degree of specialization in certain hand and feet bones is related to degree of arboreality even within gorilla subspecies. Gorilla subspecies that rely on knuckle-walking to different degrees have notably different levels of adaptation. The subspecies that spend more time in the trees, have less specialized anatomy. To read more about variation of medial cuneiform morphology amongst gorillas, read here.

How are human and gorilla hands similar?

Gorilla hands are highly adapted for walking on.
Axel Koehler/Shutterstock.com

Human and gorilla hands are incredibly similar. Both have the same skeletal composition: carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges. In many species, including gorillas and humans, carpals are the wrist bones, metacarpals are the hand bones and phalanges are the finger bones. Gorillas, also like humans, have nails on their hands instead of claws. In fact, all primates have nails instead of claws with the exception of marmosets and tamarins. Also, gorillas do not have hair on their palms just as humans do not.

How are human and gorilla hands different?

The average gorilla hand is longer than the longest human hand ever!
David Carillet/Shutterstock.com

In addition to adaptations for walking and climbing, a notable difference between gorilla and human hands is their size. The average male gorilla's hand is 6 inches across and 12 inches long. The average male human's hand is only 7.6 inches long! Although still not as large as a gorilla's, Sultan Kösen in Turkey set the record for largest human hand in 2011. The Guinness world record for largest human hand is an incredible 11.22 inches!

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Gorilla Hands vs. Human Hands: What's the Difference?

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Although most people could probably tell a gorilla hand and a human hand apart, humans and gorillas are close relatives that share many similarities under their fur and skin. If they are so similar, what makes human and gorilla hands different? This article explores some of the interesting similarities and differences between human and gorilla hands.

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Ready to learn about some amazing apes, gang? Then join National Geographic Kids as we explore the wonderful world of gorillas, with our top ten gorilla facts...
Gorilla facts!

1. There are two species of gorilla: eastern and western

Each species splits into two groups, known as subspecies. The four gorilla subspecies are eastern lowland gorillas, eastern mountain gorillas, western lowland gorillas, and western cross river gorillas!

WEIRD BUT TRUE!

All wild gorillas live in central Africa, in an area split by a vast rainforest. One side has western gorillas, while the other has eastern!

2. Gorillas are very social animals, who live together in groups

Gorillas spend a lot of time moving around their habitat in family groups known as ' troops'. Each troop can contain up to 30 gorillas! This usually includes a dominant male, several females, and their young offspring.

3. Gorillas can weigh over 200kg and stand as tall as an average human!

Gorillas are mostly herbivores, which means they only eat plants - up to 30kg of them per day! However, some subspecies have been known to eat insects and snails,too.

4. Adult males are known as 'silverbacks'

These powerful males can be more than 10 times stronger than an average human - they can tear down banana trees, bend iron bars and bite with more power than a lion! For the most part, though, they're gentle giants, only using their full strength when they feel threatened.

5. Gorillas are very clever, and have been recorded making and using tools!

Scientists have spotted wild gorillas using sticks to work out the depth of rivers and streams, making ladders from bamboo to help baby gorillas reach the treetops, and even fashioning ' cutlery' from twigs - helping them to scoop up and snack on stinging insects! Gorillas can live up to 40 years old, so they have lots of time to learn.

6. Gorilla noseprints are as unique as human fingerprints!

As a result, scientists can identify individual gorillas by paying close attention to the shape of their nose. Unique scars or marks on their faces help, too!

WEIRD BUT TRUE!

Amazingly, gorillas share a whopping 98% of their DNA with humans!

7. Primatologist Dr. Dian Fossey famously studied these incredible creatures

The scientist's work with gorillas was revolutionary at the time. Like Dr. Jane Goodall's work with chimpanzees, Dian gave gorillas names and learnt about their personalities. Her work led her to become passionate about protecting gorillas from poaching.

8. A captive gorilla called 'Koko' learned sign language!

Hanabi-Ko, known as 'Koko', was a female western lowland gorilla. Over her lifetime, she learned over 1,000 signs and was able to understand more than 2,000 English words.

WEIRD BUT TRUE!

Koko created many beautiful paintings throughout her life. She even took a photograph of herself in a mirror in 1978 - one of the earliest animal selfies!

9. Sadly, gorillas are critically endangered

The biggest threat they face is habitat destruction, which leaves gorillas with fewer safe spaces to live. As their natural habitat declines, gorillas have to venture closer to areas where humanslive, where they're more likely to catch human diseases or fall victim to poaching.

10. However, conservation efforts ARE working!

One subspecies, the mountain gorilla, has recently seen a record population high! At the last count, 1,063 of these awesome apes were found in the wild. Yay!

What did you think of our great gorilla facts? Let us know in the comments below!

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10 great gorilla facts | National Geographic Kids

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Learn about these brilliant forest dwellers in our ten top gorilla facts! What's a gorilla's favourite food? And why are gorillas endangered?

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Animalia is a very large group and contains many organisms. Lobster, Cows, Horses, Spiders, Tigers, Bears and Flamingos. This category is very broad as you can see and is the kingdoms of most of the animals on earth. All of these organisms breathe and have eyes.

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Chordata is a large group meaning there are many organisms that belong to this group. Some may include salmon, the common frog, rattle snake, a blue jay, a wood pecker and the modern human. These organisms all at some point in their life had a dorsal support rod, gill slits and a dorsal nerve cord

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Some organisms that share the same order include lemurs, baboons, catarrhines and squirrel monkeys. These organisms don't have much in common, however they are both living and have eyes, ears and mouths.

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The mammal class is very large and ranges from all different types of animals even including humans too. Five organisms that share the same class include Zebras, Deer, Giraffes, Seals and HUMANS. The one characteristic that links all of these organism together is that they contain body hair.

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The Hominidae family is known as the great apes and contains eight different species of apes. The western gorilla is family with the chimpanzee, Tapinuli Orangutan, and the sumatran. These are all considered great apes. In the photo you can see a chimpanzee. The one characteristic that links these organisms together is that they each are one of the great apes.

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Some organisms that also fall under this genus include the Mountain gorilla, Eastern gorilla, Cross river gorilla, Western lowland gorilla and the Eastern lowland gorilla. The characteristic that links all of these organisms together is that they are all apes

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Scientific Name: Gorilla Gorilla