Hi there !
I recently acquired the new mountain gorilla from CollectA and announced on my addition topic that I would make a walkaround of it and explain more in depth why I think it's an excellent rendition of the Gorilla beringei beringei subspecies, especially when compared with the two last Schleich models which are supposed to represent Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). But let's not waste our time with a too long introduction, everything is already on my
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and have a closer look together at the beast without further delay.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]That's the third gorilla male to join my collection and, to be honest, I bought it because I am a fan of gorilla figures, because it looked beautiful, and because it was marketed as a mountain gorilla. It's difficult to get a faithful idea of the real product from promo pics and I didn't really expect the mountain subspecies to be strikingly recognizable from the sculpt. Most of all, it's easier to tell close species or subspecies apart from each other when you actually have the opportunity to compare them and play the "spot the difference" game. So I had a very good surprise when I took my new CollectA out of its package and put it next to my two other models from Schleich. Here is the proud and quite intimidating trio :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]There are two species of gorillas on earth and each of them is divided into two subspecies which makes four subspecies in total.
The two species are Western (Gorilla gorilla) and Eastern (Gorilla beringei) gorillas.
The two Western subspecies are Western lowland (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and river cross gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli).
The two Eastern subspecies are Eastern lowland (Gorilla beringei graueri) and mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).
So to sum up it gives us :
- Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
- Western river cross gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)
- Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri)
- Eastern mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)
If you want to know where each lives, here is a distribution map :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]I didn't find much info about the river cross gorilla and to be honest, I don't really think it has so much differences with the Western lowland. So we'll just ignore it to simplify our matter. There is certainly more discrepancy between the two species. But first, keep in mind that this is not an exact science. There can be quite a lot of divergence between individuals within a same species and thus, a Western gorilla may show some features very close to the Eastern species typical characteristics and the other way around. But generally speaking, it appears that Eastern gorillas are bigger, heavier, bulkier, but also stockier than Western ones. It means that arms look proportionally shorter but wider and that the body is more massive on the Eastern subspecies to give that stocky look. Then, the mountain gorilla distinguishes itself from the Eastern lowland one by its fur which is even thicker to help it resist colder temperatures at higher altitudes.
Here is a real comparison between a typical mountain gorilla on the left and a typical Western lowland one on the right. Again, those are only typical phenotypes, stockier Western and slenderer mountain do exist.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]All these distinctive features are clearly visible on the Schleich 14770 and CollectA models that respectively represent a Western lowland gorilla and a mountain gorilla.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The general silhouettes are quite obviously different : apart from its shorter and wider arms, the CollectA gorilla is less "fit" than the Schleich one which is slimmer, less muscular but more "athletic". Yet, although quite obvious, that difference is still pretty slight and avoids being caricatural which makes the whole thing very subtle. The longer and thicker hairs on the CollectA model is also very visible and confirms its first overall mountain gorilla vibe.
That more hairy coat has a direct consequence on the head's shape. While the bony sagittal crest is highly distinguishable and even prominent on the Western lowland subspecies, the head of the mountain gorilla appears as a wider and more harmonious oval shape because of these extra hairs.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]On the figures, it is even more obvious from the side where the typical mountain gorilla's hairy sideburns are visible on the CollectA model.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Finally, this is the most distinguishable feature and the ONLY officially admitted one to tell the two species appart : the shape of the nostrills. On the Eastern species, wether it is the lowland or mountain one, the nostrils are wider and tend to ride up to the top while western nostrils are much rounder. A criteria respected by the CollectA and Schleich models.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]That's why, in my opinion, both these sculpts are the most perfect educational materials one could dream of to explain the differences between Western lowland and mountain gorillas, the two most famous subspecies of the largest ape on earth (Western lowland because it's the most common one and the only kept in zoos and mountain gorilla because of its rarity, its very particular wooly appearance and its importance for wildlife tourism in Ouganda or Rwanda).
You'll notice I carefully said “sculpts” and not “models”. Indeed, after further researches, those figures are not so perfect as I first thought, at least the CollectA model. The paintjob is a bit wrong as it's somewhat reddish while those tints can be observed on Western gorillas but never Eastern ones which are usually completely black (except the greyish shades of silverback males of course). So not a 100% perfect rendition but maybe it's just my sample as the figure does look black on promo pics. Anyway, even painted as a
zebra Western lowland, I recognize a mountain gorilla from that CollectA masterpiece
I have a third gorilla figure and I wondered if maybe, I also had a third subspecies in my collection
Indeed, the previous Schleich model is slightly bulkier and more muscular than the new rendition so, perhaps, I thought it could represent the Eastern lowland subspecies. But let's check the criterias together again.
First, despite being indeed more bodybuilded, the general body shape of the 2012 model is wayyy closer to the fit, athletic, more recent Schleich than the stocky CollectA.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Then the tiny round nostrils are even more Western-typical than on the newer Schleich and definitely NOT those of an Eastern gorilla.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]So, the diagnosis is irrevocable : Western gorilla too !
In my collection, this silverback is actually the leader of the group while the newer model is a younger challenging competitor !
So what about an Eastern lowland gorilla in toy form ? Is there any available from Major brands ? Well, certainly none marketed as such but since the differences are, as you saw, so subtle and subjective, and brands don't always bother being faithful to a particular subspecies, I guess the interpretation is left to the collector's judgement.
A few models could actually qualify for the Eastern lowland label.
The Papo one especially, has quite an Eastern phenotype with its big wide arms, stocky body and large oval nostrils in my opinion :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]I may buy it as such if any local “oracle” confirms the assumption.
The vintage Schleich from 2002 may also look a bit like an Eastern behemoth with its very stocky and bodybuilded look. I have seen, and had the opportunity to get that model once and it's particularly huge, a good thing to portray an Eastern lowland, the largest gorilla subspecies. However, that particular appearance is most likely due to the usual chubby Schleich design at that time than a real will to represent any particular species or subspecies and anyone would prefer the more modern Papo nowadays.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]I want to precise that I am in NO WAY a masculine version of Dian Fossey so everything I'm telling you in that topic is coming from my own stereotypes about gorillas and a few quick and botch researches similar to those I used to do at 2 am before mid-term exams. So if any of you has some knowledge about gorilla identification, please add your contribution to this thread.
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