Abstract: Gibbon (Hylobatidae spp. )is the only hominoid inhabiting China,and it is the genus which has died out most rapidly in the modern history of China. Research on the historical distribution of gibbons and the factors affecting their distribution, however,are rather limited. Based on ancient literature,in this paper we probe into regional changes in the distribution of gibbons in China dating back to Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Our results show that the distribution area of gibbons not only shrank towards the southwest,but also in other several regions until gibbons now can be found. Gibbons now survive only in southwestern China and Hainan Island. Although reasons of for the habitat decrease are multiple,among them,the human disturbance matters significantly.

Key words: China, Gibbon (Hylobatidae spp ), Influencing factors, Primate historical geography

摘要： 长臂猿是唯一分布于我国的类人猿,也是我国近代历史上分布变化最明显、灭绝最快的灵长类之一。然而,关于长臂猿在历史上的分布变化以及造成这些变化的原因的研究比较有限,本文根据古文献记载,梳理了从明朝直到现在长臂猿在我国的分布变化,并对其原因进行了分析,结果表明:长臂猿的分布除了呈从东北向西南退缩的趋势之外,也围绕着各个主要分布区的中心地带向内收缩直至消失,现存的分布区仅剩下西南边陲与海南岛西北部。从遍布大半个中国内地缩减到只剩西南边陲,这种变化受多种因素影响,其中人类影响起到重要作用。

关键词: 灵长类历史地理, 中国, 长臂猿, 影响因素