Mammals: Snub-Nosed Monkey

Description

The snub-nosed monkeys are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus Rhinopithecus. They are a rare genus and have not been investigated well. Sometimes they are grouped together with the Pygathrix genus.

Snub-nosed monkeys live in Asia, their range is southern China (especially Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou) as well as northern of Vietnam.

These monkeys get their name from the short, stump of a nose on their round face, whose nostrils are arranged forward. Their fur is relatively multicolored and long, particularly at the shoulders and backs. They grow to a length of 51 to 83 cm with a tail of 55 to 97 cm.

Snub-nosed monkeys inhabit mountain forests up to a height of 4000 m, in the winter moving into the deeply secluded regions. They spend the majority of their life in the trees. They live together in very large groups of up to 600 members, splitting up into smaller groups when food is scarce, such as in the winter. Groups consist of many more males than females. They are territorial animals, defending their territory mostly with shouts. Their vocal repetoire is large, and their calls are sometimes solos while at other times choir-like.

The diet of these animals consists mainly of tree needles, bamboo buds, fruits and leaves. A multichambered stomach helps them with digesting their food.

The impulse for mating starts with the female. It takes up eye contact with the male and runs away a short bit, then flashes its genitals. If the male shows interest, which is not always the case, it joins the female and they mate. The 200 day gestation period comes to fruition with a single birth in late spring or early summer. Young animals become fully mature in about 5 to 7 years. Not enough is known about their life expectancy.