Geissmann, T., 1991: The Spaeth gibbon collection. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 39: 53-70.

The Spaeth gibbon collection

T. Geissmann
Anthropological Institute, University Zürich-Irchel, Switzerland

Abstract: A little known collection of 18 hylobatids labelled as pileated gibbons (mainly skulls and preserved fetuses) is housed at the Anthropological Institute of Zürich University, Switzerland. The exact origin of the specimens was not recorded on the labels. In order to identify these gibbons, the author scanned correspondence and unpublished documents in the A.H. Schultz Archives (Zürich), at the Yerkes Primate Center (Atlanta, U.S.A.), and at the Yale University Library (New Haven, U.S.A.). These documents revealed that all specimens belong to one homogenous collection and can be reliably identified as pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus). The collection was traced back to the original collector, the late Dr. R.A. Spaeth. The exact origin of the gibbons was established as Sriracha in southeastern Thailand.