NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Buff-cheeked Gibbon
Nomascus gabriellae (Thomas, 1909)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae), also called the golden-cheeked gibbon, the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon, the golden-cheeked crested gibbon, the red-cheeked gibbon, or the buffed-cheeked gibbon, is a species of gibbon native to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The species was discovered and named after the British naturalist Gabrielle Maud Vassal. The yellow-cheeked gibbon is born blond and later turns black. Males carry this colouring through their lifespan and have the distinguishing golden cheeks. Females are born blonde to blend into their mother's fur but they later turn black. Females turn back to blond at sexual maturity, keeping only a black cap on the top of their heads. This diurnal and arboreal gibbon lives in primary tropical forest, foraging for fruits, using brachiation to move through the trees. Little is known about this species in the wild, but it is thought that it has a life span of approximately 46 years. Gibbon groups vocalise loudly early in the morning. Their songs probably serve to defend resources such as territories, food trees, partners, but may also help to attract potential mates.
Wikipedia contributors, Yellow-cheeked gibbon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:35:34.558474+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nomascus gabriellae (Thomas, 1909)
- Name authority
- (Thomas, 1909)
- Common name
- Buff-cheeked Gibbon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Hylobatidae
- Genus
- Nomascus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
- suborderHaplorrhini Pocock, 1918
- infraorderSimiiformes Haeckel, 1866
- superfamilyHominoidea Gray, 1825
- familyHylobatidae Gray, 1871
- genusNomascus Miller, 1933
- speciesNomascus gabriellae (Thomas, 1909)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nomascus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Yellow-cheeked Crested GibbonNomascus annamensis Thinh, Mootnick, Thanh, Nadler & Roos, 2010 | HylobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hainan Crested GibbonNomascus hainanus (Thomas, 1892) | HylobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Black Crested GibbonNomascus nasutus (Kunkel d'Herculais, 1884) | HylobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black Crested GibbonNomascus concolor (Harlan, 1826) | HylobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern White-cheeked Crested GibbonNomascus leucogenys (Ogilby, 1840) | HylobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern White-cheeked Crested GibbonNomascus siki (Delacour, 1951) | HylobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hylobates gabriellae Thomas, 1909 Thomas, 1909 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944292 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:47NQM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.