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Arunachal macaque

Species of Old World monkey

Arunachal macaque

Species of Old World monkey

The Arunachal macaque (Macaca munzala) is a macaque native to Eastern Himalayas of Bhutan, China and India. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

It was scientifically described in 2005.

It is a relatively large brown primate with a comparatively short tail. Its species name comes from mun zala, meaning deep forest (mun) monkey (monkey), as it is called by the Monpa people of West Kameng and Tawang.

Discovery

A camera trap photograph of Arunachal macaques in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, India

It was discovered as a new taxon in 1997 by the Indian primatologist Anwaruddin Choudhury, but he thought it to be a new subspecies of the Tibetan macaque (M. thibetana). It was described as a new species in 2005 by a group of scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation, India.

Subsequently, it was also discovered in Bhutan, where it was observed and photographed in the Trashi Yangshi area in 2006.

Description

The Arunachal macaque is compactly built and has a very dark face. It lives at high altitudes, between 2000 m and 3500 m above sea level, making it one of the highest-dwelling primates. It belongs to the M. sinica species-group of macaques, along with the Assamese macaque (M. assamensis), the Tibetan macaque, the bonnet macaque (M. radiata) and the toque macaque (M. sinica).

The Arunachal macaque is apparently physically similar to the Assam and Tibetan macaques, while genetically closely related to the bonnet macaque of southern India. This is probably the result of convergent evolution, where organisms evolve similar physical features due to similar environmental selection pressure, while genetically they may have different origins.

Kumar et al. (2008) and Sinha et al. (2006) report at least 569 individuals in thirty-five troops; thirty-two troops in Tawang and three troops in West Kameng. The monkey is severely persecuted in some parts of its known distribution by locals retaliating against crop raiding.

References

References

  1. Kumar, A.. (2020). "''Macaca munzala''".
  2. (2018). "西藏错那县发现藏南猕猴 (Discovery of Macaca munzala in Cona, Tibet)". 《动物学杂志》.
  3. Choudhury A.U.. (2008). "Primates of Bhutan and observations of hybrid langurs". Primate Conservation.
  4. Sinha, A.. (2005). "''Macaca munzala'': a new species from western Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India". International Journal of Primatology.
  5. Choudhury, A.. (2004). "The mystery macaques of Arunachal Pradesh". Rhino Foundation Newsletter.
  6. Biswas, J.. (2011). "The enigmatic Arunachal macaque: its biogeography, biology and taxonomy in Northeastern India". American Journal of Primatology.
  7. Chakraborty, D.. (2007). "Phylogenetic relationships and morphometric affinities of the Arunachal macaque ''Macaca munzala'', a newly described primate from Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
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