Tapanuli Orangutan

Open encyclopedia reference

The Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) is a species of orangutan restricted to South Tapanuli in the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It is one of three known living species of orangutan, alongside the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii), found farther northwest on the island, and the Bornean orangutan (P. pygmaeus). It was described as a distinct species in 2017. As of 2018, there are roughly 800 individuals of this species and it is currently on the critically endangered species list.

Wikipedia contributors, Tapanuli 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 tapanuliensis Nurcahyo, Meijaard, Nowak, Fredriksson & Groves in Nater et al., 2017

Name authority

Nurcahyo, Meijaard, Nowak, Fredriksson & Groves in Nater et al., 2017

Common name

Tapanuli 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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
12. suborderHaplorrhini Pocock, 1918
13. infraorderSimiiformes Haeckel, 1866
14. superfamilyHominoidea Gray, 1825
15. familyHominidae Gray, 1825
16. subfamilyPonginae Elliot, 1913
17. genusPongo Lacépède, 1799
18. speciesPongo tapanuliensis Nurcahyo, Meijaard, Nowak, Fredriksson & Groves in Nater et al., 2017

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Pongo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 7 records assigned to Hominidae.

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.

1. Nater, Alexander, Maja P. Mattle-Greminger, Anton Nurcahyo, Matthew G. Nowak, Marc de Manuel, et al. (2017). Morphometric, Behavioral, and Genomic Evidence for a New Orangutan Species. Current Biology, Vol. 27, No. 22. 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:4LTT4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.