The doucs or douc langurs make up the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Pygathrix''. They are colobine Old World monkeys, native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, which consists of these 3 species: red-shanked douc,

black-shanked douc The black-shanked douc (''Pygathrix nigripes'') is an endangered species of douc found mostly in the forests of Eastern Cambodia, with some smaller populations in Southern Vietnam. The region they are mostly found in is called the Annamite Range, ...

, and gray-shanked douc.

Description

The doucs are colobine Old World monkeys, which make up the

''Pygathrix''. They are native to

Classification

The doucs make up the

''Pygathrix'', which consists of these 3 species: * Red-shanked douc, ''Pygathrix nemaeus'' *

Black-shanked douc The black-shanked douc (''Pygathrix nigripes'') is an endangered species of douc found mostly in the forests of Eastern Cambodia, with some smaller populations in Southern Vietnam. The region they are mostly found in is called the Annamite Range, ...

, ''Pygathrix nigripes'' * Gray-shanked douc, ''Pygathrix cinerea'' Even though they are known as "douc langurs", they are in fact more closely related to the

proboscis monkey The proboscis monkey (''Nasalis larvatus'') or long-nosed monkey is an arboreal Old World monkey with an unusually large nose, a reddish-brown skin color and a long tail. It is endemic to the southeast Asian island of Borneo and is found mostly ...

and snub-nosed monkeys than to any of the

langur The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications spli ...

s. They are part of the subfamily Colobinae of the family

Cercopithecidae Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...

Appearance

Doucs have a distinct appearance. The red-shanked douc characteristically has bright maroon legs and reddish patches around the eyes. In contrast, the grey-shanked douc is less vibrant, with speckled grey legs and orange markings on the face. Both have dappled grey bodies, black hands and feet and white cheeks, although the cheek hairs of the red-shanked douc are much longer. The black-shanked douc has black legs. Their long hind limbs and tail allow these monkeys to be very agile in their treetop habitat.

Behavior

They live in small family groups headed by one adult male. A single group may have several adult females, and many children. Young males unaffiliated with a family group often make their own troops. Females usually bear a single offspring at a time, which is suckled for about a year.Felix, Dr. Jiri. "Animals of Asia". London: Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1983.

References

External links

* ARKive
images and movies of the black-shanked douc ''(Pygathrix nigripes)''

Primate Info Net ''Pygathrix'' Factsheets

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