I took some photos of Burrito this morning that caused me to admire his face and think about the chimpanzee facial features that I love.
The top of my personal “awesome chimpanzee facial features” list is the brow ridge (also known as supraorbital torus, ridge, or arch).
Though much less pronounced in chimpanzees, humans have a supraorbital ridge too – our eyebrows normally sit near the bottom of our arches.
Each chimpanzee has a somewhat unique brow ridge – I wonder if you could identify a chimpanzee by a brow ridge “print” like a fingerprint.
I will never say that I have a favorite chimpanzee, but I will admit that I have a favorite brow ridge: Jody’s. I like how deeply arched it is with lots of wrinkles, giving it a decidedly heart-shaped appearance:
Here’s a look at everyone else’s supraorbital tori:
Missy:
Negra:
Foxie:
Jamie (that’s also her profile in the 2nd photo in this post):
Annie:
Burrito:
Jody’s is sweet with its heart shape. But oh my goodness that last one of Burrito!
I love all these beautiful faces …
Wow very different!! So interesting! Love them so much ~ they melt my heart. And love you guys too for all your care and attention to detail. They are in good hands and sooooo lucky. Hugs to all!
Very interesting, and that first photo of Jody is sweet. Love the light on her face and her expression.
Funny, as much as I’ve looked at pictures of your seven over the past few years, I never before paid attention to that brow. Thank you for pointing it out.
Love them all but Foxie is just beautiful. She has such an expressive face and the light shines from her lovely eyes.