Previous classifications of gorillas from Mt. Kahuzi, Mt. Tshiaberimu and the Kayonza Forest, placing them in Gorilla gorilla graueri or G.g. beringei, somewhat oversimplify a complex situation. Both Kahuzi and Tshiaberimu gorillas are close to graueri and should be placed in that subspecies, but each (in different ways) shows some approach to beringei, either through independent adaptation to extreme montane conditions, or because they may be points along a (now disrupted) cline from one race to the other. A hypothesis for the dispersal of beringei is presented, making use of geophysical data on the movement of the African plate over the Virunga ‘hot-spot’.