NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sumatran Orangutan
Pongo abelii Lesson, 1827
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.
Nahaufnahme des männlichen Sumatra-Orang-Utans Bimbo im Pongoland des Zoos Leipzig
Fiver, der Hellseher · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is one of the three species of orangutans. Critically endangered, and found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, also found in Sumatra.
Wikipedia contributors, Sumatran orangutan; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:58:21.493415+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pongo abelii Lesson, 1827
- Name authority
- Lesson, 1827
- Common name
- Sumatran Orangutan
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Hominidae
- Genus
- Pongo
- 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
- familyHominidae Gray, 1825
- subfamilyPonginae Elliot, 1913
- genusPongo Lacépède, 1799
- speciesPongo abelii Lesson, 1827
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pongo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bornean OrangutanPongo pygmaeus (Linnaeus, 1760) | HominidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tapanuli OrangutanPongo tapanuliensis Nurcahyo, Meijaard, Nowak, Fredriksson & Groves in Nater et al., 2017 | HominidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pithecus satyrus langkatensis Selenka, 1896 Selenka, 1896 | synonym |
| Pithecus satyrus deliensis Selenka, 1896 Selenka, 1896 | synonym |
| Simia gigantica Pearson, 1841 Pearson, 1841 | synonym |
| Pithecus satyrus abongensis Selenka, 1896 Selenka, 1896 | 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=944294 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.
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:4LTSY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.