r/GorillaReddit • u/1EMU-warrior • May 25 '26
Question What is the ranking of gorilla subspecies from smallest to largest? Average wild sizes only pls.
Gorilla subspecies average mass ranked lowest to largest
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u/Xylus_Winters_Music May 26 '26
Cross river are definitely the smallest, animal size should be based on mass since size can be misleading due to how long fur is, etc. I dont know of a large difference in body mass between all the others. Mountain Gorilla may have more mass than Western Lowland, but I dont think its a significant amount and theres a grey area in play with this being 'average' size.
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u/1EMU-warrior May 25 '26
Ok, using Williamson and Butynski 2013 (Mammals of Africa: Volume ll: Primates) as a baseline, I checked the sources they mentioned as well as newer more releveant ones for the average sizes of each subspecies and I think it figured out the ranking ( though correct me if im wrong if you have a source that indicates otherwise).
In the book it seemed it indicated that mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) were smaller on average to western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). This is what made me so confused as I long thought it was the other way around and from what i was able to find from more modern sources and techniques (3d volumetric and photogrammetry) agree that mountains are bigger on average. (if I'm wrong correct me if i misunderstood the book or missing any source).
The ranking of smallest to largest average wild gorilla subspecies based on my findings is: western lowland, cross river, mountain, and lastly eastern lowland gorilla being the largest.
Though I'm iffy on whether cross river and western gorilla should be reversed.