Southern porcupine monkey
| Southern porcupine monkey | ||||||||||||
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Southern pig monkey ( Macaca nemestrina ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Macaca nemestrina | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The southern porcupine monkey ( Macaca nemestrina ) is a primate species from the genus of macaques within the family of the vervet monkeys (Cercopithecidae). It used to be combined into one species with the northern pig monkey .
description
Southern pig monkeys owe their name to the pig-like tail. Their fur is short and colored olive-brown or grayish on the upper side, the underside is whitish. They have a dark cap on the top of the head, the cheek and whiskers can be colored white. Her hairless face is dark pink. They reach a head body length of 43 to 77 centimeters and a weight of 5 to 14 kilograms and are therefore one of the larger macaque species. As with most of the animals of their kind, the males are around a third larger than the females. They carry the short, around 15 to 25 centimeters long tail curled forward.
Distribution and way of life
Southern pig monkeys live in Southeast Asia , their range includes the Malay Peninsula , Sumatra and Borneo . They are diurnal forest dwellers found in the tropical rainforest as well as in other low-lying forests. They primarily look for food on the ground, but retreat to the trees in case of danger and to rest at night. They are quieter than other monkeys, possibly to avoid paying attention on the forest floor. Like all macaques, they live together in groups that consist of significantly more females than males. Males have to leave their group when they reach sexual maturity and sometimes form short-lived all-male groups. There is a distinctive hierarchy within the groups ; higher-ranking animals generally enjoy advantages in terms of food consumption and mutual grooming. A dominant alpha male leads the group.
nutrition
Southern pig monkeys feed primarily on fruits. In addition, they consume other plant material such as leaves, nuts, mushrooms, but also insects and small vertebrates. In Malaysia it was found that the monkeys were specifically targeting oil palm plantations to catch rats. Each large horde of southern porpoises captures and consumes over 3,000 rats a year.
Reproduction
The males mate with as many females from the group as possible, the readiness of the female to conceive is indicated by a strong swelling of the rules. After a gestation period of around six months, a single young is usually born. Young animals cling to the mother's belly after birth and are weaned at around one year. They reach sexual maturity at three to four years of age. The life expectancy of the porpoise is over 20 years, in captivity up to 30 years.
Pig monkeys and humans
Pig monkeys are sometimes used as laboratory and research animals, but to a lesser extent than the related rhesus and long-tailed macaques . In the course of space travel , several of these animals were shot into space in the 1960s. In southern Thailand (allegedly infiltrated) young animals are trained as so-called picking monkeys and used as labor for the coconut harvest. Hunting and the destruction of their habitat represent the main threat to the southern porpoise today, so that they are listed as endangered ( vulnerable ) by the IUCN .
literature
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
supporting documents
- ↑ Anna Holzner, Nadine Ruppert, Filip Swat, Antje Engelhardt, Hjalmar Kühl, Anja Widdig: Macaques can contribute to greener practices in oil palm plantations when used as biological pest control. Current Biology, Volume 29, Issue 20, PR1066-R1067, October 2019, DOI: 10.1016 / j.cub.2019.09.011
Web links
- Information on theprimata.com
- Training center for coconut-picking monkeys in Thailand
- Macaca nemestrina in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: A. Eudey & Members of the Primate Specialist Group, 2000. Accessed June 2 of 2008.