Black-footed Hanuman langur
| Black-footed Hanuman langur | ||||||||||||
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Black-footed Hanuman langur, northern subspecies Semnopithecus hypoleucos achates |
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| Semnopithecus hypoleucos | ||||||||||||
| Blyth , 1841 |
The black-footed Hanuman langur ( Semnopithecus hypoleucos ) is a primate species from the slender monkey group and is one of the six species into which the subgenus Hanuman langur within the genus of Indian langurs ( Semnopithecus ) is divided in more recent systematics. It belongs to the smaller Hanuman langur species.
Distribution and subspecies
These primates are adapted to humid habitats and live in southwest India , where they occur in a strip from central Karnataka to northern Kerala . There are three subspecies:
- S. h. Hypoleucos (“Travancore Langur”) occurs in the southern Western Ghats from the Brahmagiri hills south to the Silent Valley in Kerala .
- S. h. achates ( Syn .: S. dussumieri achates , English "Northern Malabar Langur") lives on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and on the western edge of the Deccan Plateau.
- S. h. iulus (Syn .: S. dussumieri iulus , English "Black-legged Langur") occurs from the Jog waterfalls in the north to the Brahmagiri hills.
In the south of the distribution area, S. h. hypoleucos with the Nilgiri langur ( S. johnii ). The hybrids look like brown Nilgiri langurs.
features
Like all Hanuman langurs, they are slender, long-tailed animals. The black-footed Hanuman langur is one of the smaller representatives of its genus, its body is slender and the tail longer than the body. The head-torso length of adult animals of the northern subspecies ( S. h. Achates ) is between 52 and 68 cm and the tail is between 73 and 109 cm long. Male monkeys can reach a weight of 13.6 to 15.9 kg, females are considerably lighter with 10.7 to 12.2 kg. At S. h. iulus has a head-trunk length of 50.8 to 55.5 cm, the tail length is 72.5 to 91.4 cm and males weigh an average of 9.5 kg and females have an average weight of 8.4 kg.
The fur of these primates is gray-brown on the back, the limbs are dark. The rest of the body, however, is yellowish-white. The namesake feature are the black-colored hands and feet, the face is dark and hairless as with all Hanuman langurs.
Way of life
The habitat of the black-footed Hanuman langurs are predominantly rainforests up to an altitude of 1200 meters, they also occur in other forest types and also in the vicinity of humans, for example in gardens. They are absent in coastal areas below a height of 100 meters, which are densely populated by humans. The subspecies S. h. hypoleucos and S. h. iulus are specialized inhabitants of evergreen, moist mountain forests. S. h. achates is also found in plains and drier forests up to an altitude of 700 meters.
Black-footed Hanuman langurs are diurnal and can be found both on the ground (around 20 to 40% of the active time) and in the trees. They move much faster on the ground than in the trees. They live in groups that, like other Hanuman langurs, are predominantly harem groups, which means that a male gathers several females around him, or are groups of men. Harem groups observed at Hubli-Dharwad were 15 to 27 individuals strong, pure male groups consisted of 2 to 59 animals. The harem groups' territories were 10 to 33 hectares in size. The diet of these animals consists mainly of leaves, but they also eat fruits, seeds, buds and other things. A group studied near Hubli-Dharwad spent 58% of the time eating leaves, 29% eating seeds and fruits, 7% eating flowers, and 6% eating bark , Bugs, other insects and other things. These included small, black caterpillars and galls from Terminalia elliptica .
The monkeys reproduce year-round, but newborns are most commonly sighted between December and April. Most births occur within 2 to 6 months, but the time frame varies from group to group and from year to year. The females take care of the blackish-colored cubs, but the males play with them and otherwise defend the territory. Young animals are weaned at around 20 months of age and are completely independent at three years of age. Of all the southern Indian langur species, the black-footed Hanuman langur has so far been the least researched.
Hazard and protection
As their habitat continues to shrink, it is feared that populations will decline in the future, but the main threat is hunting. The IUCN lists the black-footed Hanuman langur as "endangered" ( vulnerable ). The monkeys are found in various protected areas, S. h. iulus in the Kudremukh National Park and in the Mollem National Park and S. h. hypoleucos in Brahmagiri and Nagarhole National Park .
literature
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g D. Zinner, GH Fickenscher & C. Roos: Family Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys). Pages 735-736 in Russell A. Mittermeier , Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson : Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Primates: 3rd ISBN 978-8496553897
Web links
- Semnopithecus hypoleucos onthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved April 19, 2009.