Athena Review Image Archive ™
Pongo (Orangutan) skull
Skull of an adult male orangutan (Pongo) seen from front and side (after)
The grown-up male Pongo (orangutan) has a robust skull with a long, jutting upper jaw and massive teeth. The huge jaw muscles are attached to a ridge at the top of the skull called a sagital crest, which is also found in many other male hominoids, past and present, including male gorillas, chimpanzees, the Miocene ape Sivapithecus, and the robust Australopithecines (Paranthropus robustus, P. boisei, and P. ethiopicus) from the early Pleistocene period.
There is considerable sexual dimorphism in all of these hominoid species, including Pongo. The adult female orangutan skull is considerably smaller and more gracile, and resembles the skull of juveniles.
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