The golden snub-nosed monkey
(''Rhinopithecus roxellana'') is an
Old World monkey
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 ...
in the subfamily
Colobinae
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 ...
.
[ It is ]endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
. They inhabit these mountainous forests of Southwestern China at elevations of above sea level. The Chinese name is Sichuan golden hair monkey (四川金丝猴). It is also widely referred to as the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. Of the three species of snub-nosed monkey
__NOTOC__
Snub-nosed monkeys are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus ''Rhinopithecus''. The genus is rare and not fully researched. Some taxonomists group snub-nosed monkeys together with the genus '' Pygathrix''.
S ...
s in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, the golden snub-nosed monkey is the most widely distributed throughout China.
Snow occurs frequently within its range, and it can withstand colder average temperatures better than any other non-human primate. Its diet varies markedly with the seasons, but it is primarily a herbivore with lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...]
.
Taxonomy
Biologists presently identify three subspecies of this monkey,[ which can be distinguished primarily by the length of their ]tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...
s, as well as by certain skeletal and dental features. The dense human settlement of much of eastern Sichuan and the Han River valley of southern Shaanxi creates geographical separation between the three subspecies.
* Moupin golden snub-nosed monkey, ''Rhinopithecus roxellana roxellana''. This subspecies is found in the mountainous areas flanking the Sichuan Basin
The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributa ...
from the west and north. According to the estimates made between 1995 and 2006, the population includes some 10,000 individuals, living mostly in Sichuan. Of them, some 6,000 lived in the Min Mountains
Min Mountains or Minshan () are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern Sichuan (the eastern part of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and adjacent areas of Mianyang Prefect ...
of northern Sichuan, 3,500 in the Qionglai Mountains
Qionglai Mountains () is a mountain range in the Sichuan Province of China. It runs in the general north-south direction, and is located mostly within the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in the north-central part of the province.
...
further west, and 500 in the Daxiangling Daxiangling (), or Daxiang Range is a fairly small mountain range in China's Sichuan Province. It runs in the general western and northwestern direction from the famous sacred Mount Emei, and is part of the western mountainous rim of the Sichuan Bas ...
and Xiaoxiangling
The Xiaoxiang Range () is a mountain range in Sichuan Province, China. It is part of a complicated system of mountains in south-central Sichuan, and runs in the general north-south direction within Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and the adjace ...
ranges of south-central Sichuan. Smaller groups are also found just north of Sichuan border, in the border counties of Gansu ( Wen County; about 800 individuals in eight troops) and Shaanxi (Ningqiang County
Ningqiang County () is a county and both the southwesternmost and westernmost county-level division of Shaanxi province, China, bordering both Sichuan and Gansu. It is under the administration of Hanzhong City. The source of the Han River is loca ...
, about 170-200 individuals in one or two troops).
* Qinling golden snub-nosed monkey, ''Rhinopithecus roxellana qinlingensis''. According to an estimate published in 2001, this subspecies included some 3,800-4,000 individuals (about half of them adults) in 39 in Qinling Mountains
The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...
of southern Shaanxi. The Qinling Mountains
The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...
are separated from the more southern Min
Min or MIN may refer to:
Places
* Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China
** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian
* Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China
* Min River (Fujian)
* Min River (Sichuan)
* Mineola (Am ...
–Daba Mountains
The Daba Mountains, also known by their Chinese name as the Dabashan, are a mountain range in Central China between the watersheds of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Part of the larger Qinling mountain range, it cuts through four provinces: Si ...
belt by the wide and comparatively densely populated Han River valley.
* Hubei golden snub-nosed monkey, ''Rhinopithecus roxellana hubeiensis''. Members of this subspecies reside in the Daba Mountains
The Daba Mountains, also known by their Chinese name as the Dabashan, are a mountain range in Central China between the watersheds of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Part of the larger Qinling mountain range, it cuts through four provinces: Si ...
(in particular, their Shennongjia
Shennongjia Forestry District () is a county-level administrative unit (a "forestry district") in northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, directly subordinated to the provincial government. It occupies in western Hubei, and, as of ...
section) of the westernmost Hubei (Shennongjia
Shennongjia Forestry District () is a county-level administrative unit (a "forestry district") in northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, directly subordinated to the provincial government. It occupies in western Hubei, and, as of ...
Forest District, Fang
A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...
, Xingshan and Badong counties) and the northeastern Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
Municipality. According to a 1998 estimate, the population included 600–1,000 individuals in five to six troops. In 2005, the management of the Shennongjia Nature Reserve reported that the population had grown between 1990 and 2005 from 500 to over 1200.[Number of golden monkeys doubled]
(Xinhua, www.chinaview.cn, 2005-08-08)
Physical characteristics
The adult and subadult golden snub-nosed monkey is sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
.
Adult males (estimated at over 7 years of age) have large bodies covered with very long, golden guard hairs
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
on their backs and cape area. The crest is medium brown while the back, crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
to nape
The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nu ...
, arms and outer thighs are deep brown. The brown crest also contains physically upright hairs, whose shape is useful for individual identification. Also, when their mouths are open, researchers can observe long canines. They are usually between 58 cm and 68 cm and weigh about 16.4 kg.
Subadult males (estimated at 5–7 years of age) have a similar sized body as the fully developed male adult, but have a more slender body. The golden guard hairs on the cape are short and sparse, and their median brown crests show microbanding, while also turning from a brown color.
Adult females (estimated at over 5 years of age) are smaller in size and are about half the size of adult males. The dorsum, crown to nape, cape, arms and outer thighs are brown to deep brown in some of the older females. However, golden guard hairs are also present on the back and cape area, but they are shorter in length than in the males. The brown crest shows microbanding. Their breasts and nipples are large and easily visible which is also useful for identification. After pregnancy, it is common to observe infants and newborns hanging beneath the abdomen of females when they are climbing or walking. They are usually between 47 cm and 52 cm and weigh about 9.4 kg.
Subadult females (estimated at 3–4 years old) are smaller than adult females and are about two-thirds the size. The body hair is brown, gradually turning golden but lacking the golden guard hairs. Their median brown crest also shows microbanding. Their breasts and nipples are also not as large as they are in adult females.
Juveniles (ranging from at least 1 year of age to 3 years old) are quite small, being less than two-thirds the size of adult females. Their body hair is light brown, gradually turning reddish gold. The rest of their body (dorsum, crown to nape, cape, arms and outer thighs) hair is brown. Golden hairs in the dorsum or cape area are not recognizable nor is the median brown crest present in subadult to adult females and males. Sexual discrimination is difficult because their external genital organs are underdeveloped.
Infants (estimated at 3 months to 1 year old) are light brownish gray or light brown, appearing white in sunlight. They are often observed playing with juveniles or other infants, but are noted to spend most of their time beside their mothers or sucking milk. They are also observed clinging from the front of their mothers (primarily the lower abdomen) for protection, feeding, and nurturing. Their sex of the individual cannot be distinguished at this point of time as well as in Newborns.
Newborn babies (estimated at less than 3 months of age) are dark to light gray. They turn light brownish grey after about 2 months. They are also observed rarely leaving their mothers or other females carrying them, known as alloparenting
Alloparenting (also referred to as alloparental care) is a term used to classify any form of parental care provided by an individual towards young that aren't its own direct offspring. These are often referred to as "non-descendant" young, even th ...
. Sex at this time is indistinguishable.
Habitat and distribution
The distribution of the golden snub-nosed monkey is limited to temperate forests on mountains in four provinces in China: Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
, and Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
. This monkey is found at elevations of 1,500-3,400 m. Within this area, vegetation varies with altitude from deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
, broadleaf forests at low elevations to mixed coniferous
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
, broadleaf forests above 2,200 m and coniferous forests above 2,600 m. Average annual temperature is 6.4 °C with a minimum of -8.3 °C in January and a maximum of 21.7 °C in July.
Home range size varies seasonally. The change in home range size and location is dependent upon the availability and distribution of food. The total area covered by seasonal home ranges is surprisingly large for a species. One of the largest home ranges found covered 40 km2.
Behavior
The golden snub-nosed monkey is found in groups ranging in size from 5-10 individuals to bands of about 600. The social organization of this species can be quite complex. The one-male-units (OMUs) are the basic social unit within groups of golden snub-nosed monkeys with many of the OMUs forming a bigger group. These multi-tier societies consist of several OMUs that include one adult male plus a number of adult females and their offspring. Some observers have even come to conclude that these large foraging groups are multi-male and multi-female societies.
The male may stay solitary, often remaining away from the rest of the group members as they rest. Adult females tend to socialize more with one another than with other males or juveniles. Group members remain close to one another, interactions between different OMUs often result in confrontations. Females of the golden snub-nosed monkey are usually observed to form several close associations with other females. However, in conflicts against other units in the surrounding site, both males and females support each other, while also protecting their young (usually observed at a distance by putting the young in the center of the pack). Unusually for a harem-forming species, infanticide by males is averted. Female snub-nose monkeys will deliberately have "affairs" with all resident males in the surrounding area behind the harem-master's back, which in turn creates paternity confusion and means newly established alpha males will not risk killing what could be their own offspring. In turn females will have more reproductive success and less infant losses.
Protecting the young is a group effort. Mothers often have helpers assisting them with the care of their young. When faced with danger from a predator such as the northern goshawk
The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...
(''Accipiter gentilis''), the young are placed at the center of the group while the stronger adult males go to the scene of the alarm. The rest of the day, the members of the group remain closer to one another with the young protected at the center.
There is little information available on the sleeping cluster patterns of the Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
snub-nosed monkeys. However, in a detailed observation of the free-ranging band in the Qinling Mountains
The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...
in central China, results have suggested that winter night activity of ''Rhinopithecus roxellana'' is a compromise between antipredator and thermoregulatory strategies and an adaptation to ecological conditions of their temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
habitat. Keeping warm is critical for survival in freezing temperatures, but their thick coats can provide this warmth as well as sleeping in these clusters. Monkeys often sleep in the lower stratum of the tree canopy, avoiding the upper canopy where it is cold and windy. They form larger sleeping clusters at night than in the daytime. The most common types of night-sleeping clusters were adult females and their young, followed by adult females with other adult females. Adult males are usually observed sleeping by themselves or on the lookout for predators or dangers.
There are several hypotheses to explain the formation of sleeping clusters, the most important one being a thermoregulatory process. The thermoregulatory hypothesis suggests that a primary function of sleeping in clusters is the conservation of heat during cold temperatures. Along with thermoregulation, safety from predators is an important principle underlying the formation of sleeping clusters in primates. This antipredation hypothesis suggest that increased cohesion and large sleeping congregations might facilitate predator detection and enhance group defense.
Reproduction
Females are sexually mature
Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definiti ...
at about 5 years old. Males are sexually mature at about 5–7 years old. Mating may occur throughout the year but peaks in the month of October. This approximates gestation at 6–7 months in length. The golden snub-nosed monkey gives birth from March to June.
In primate research, although male-male competition for mates and female mate choice
Mate choice is one of the primary mechanisms under which evolution can occur. It is characterized by a "selective response by animals to particular stimuli" which can be observed as behavior.Bateson, Paul Patrick Gordon. "Mate Choice." Mate Choic ...
are the common causes of sexual selection
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex mate choice, choose mates of the other sex to mating, mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of t ...
, female-female competition over males is especially important in polygynous species. The Sichuan snub-nosed monkey is a seasonal breeding species of colobine
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 ...
endemic to China, and lives in a multi-level social system. Because the basic social and reproductive unit is the harem or one male unit (OMU), which consists of a single resident male, a number of adult females, sub-adult females, juveniles and infants, it has been suggested that sexual competition in this polygynous
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...
species is skewed. Females faced with multiple competitors will exhibit a high level of sexual competition
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (i ...
, while the single resident male will not experience within-group sexual competition. They also have up to 3 babies.
Diet
The golden snub-nosed monkey eats (from greatest to least amount) lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...]
, fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
s or seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s, bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be spec ...
s, mature leaves, herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s, bark, and flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s. This diet varies from season to season, showing a correlation once again between food availability and home range. This diet also shows a complicated seasonal variation. The monthly diet of monkeys at Shennongjia Nature Reserve varies from primarily lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[folivore
In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...]
and lichen eater from May to July, and to a mixture of frugivore
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...
(or seed eater) and lichen eater or primarily lichen eater between August and October. For this seasonal variation, the amount of lichens consumed appears to decrease in the summer with the greater availability of fruit or seeds. The monkeys' preferred lichen species seem to grow on '' Cerasus discadenia'', ''Salix
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
wallichiana'', and '' Malus halliana''. Lichens are found in great profusion on dead trees. Monkeys at Qingmuchuan Nature Reserve have not been observed feeding on lichen; during the winter they feed mostly on leaves, bark, and buds, and during the summer they feed mostly on the fruit of the giant dogwood.
This primate prefers to forage in larger trees of a tree species, and spends most of the time using primary forest and young forest, rarely uses shrub forest and does not use grassland. Even though they primarily forage in the trees and sometimes on the ground, they have several predators, including both mammals, such as dhole
The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...
(''Cuon alpinus''), wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
(''Canis lupus''), Asiatic golden cat
The Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2008, and is threatened by poac ...
(''Catopuma temmincki''), and leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
(''Panthera pardus''), and birds, like golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
(''Aquila chrysaetos'') and northern goshawk
The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...
(''Accipiter gentilis'').
Social structures
The fundamental level of social organization is the one-male, multifemale social unit (OMU), which contains a single breeding male, several breeding females (harem) and their offspring. There also exist all-male units (AMU), in which several bachelor males reside together. Many of these are juvenile and sub-adult males who transferred directly into the AMU from their natal OMU. In some cases adult AMU members are previous residential males of an OMU. AMU members are characterized by an age-graded dominance hierarchy
In biology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social animal , social groups interact, creating a ranking system. A dominant higher-ranking i ...
and kin relationships. Solitary males are principally adults who have been replaced as breeding males in their OMU. However they may transfer into an all-male band or follow the breeding band and try to take over an OMU from the residential male. The ''breeding band'' is an aggregation of OMUs that coordinate their daily activity. Although they feed, forage, rest and travel together in a coordinated manner, members of different OMUs within the breeding band rarely engage in social interactions. The all-male band is composed of 1–3 AMUs that are socially distinct from each other but coordinate their activities in close spatial proximity. The ''herd'' is composed of an associated breeding band, all-male band and solitary males. The ''troop'' is composed of two or more herds in a large home range. Individuals and OMUs have been observed to transfer between herds of this multilevel society.
Conservation
The golden snub-nosed monkey is endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
due to habitat loss. For instance, lichens are the main staple of the monkey's diet and dead trees have the greatest lichen coverage. Unfortunately, dead trees are harvested, thus reducing the quality of the habitat and availability of food. The monkey is a highly selective feeder, so damage to its habitat seriously impacts the species.
This primate is found in a number of protected areas, including Baihe Nature Reserve, Foping National Nature Reserve, Shennongjia National Geopark, and Wanglang National Nature Reserve. The golden snub-nosed monkey is also listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning that international trade in this species is prohibited.
In 2004 the endangered aspect of this monkey was publicized in a postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
issued by Guernsey Post
Guernsey Post is the postal service for the island of Guernsey, Channel Islands. It includes a Philatelic bureau, and regularly issues both Definitive stamp, definitive and Commemorative stamp, commemorative stamps. It also provides postal ser ...
.
In captivity
The San Francisco Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo is a zoo located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, California, between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway. The SF Zoo is a public institution, managed by the non-profit San Francisco Zoologi ...
kept this species during 1985, and the San Diego zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...
kept the species from 1984-89. Outside Mainland China only Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
currently keep golden-snub nosed monkeys.
In popular culture
In the ''His Dark Materials
''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), ''The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and ''The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follows ...
'' book saga by Philip Pullman
Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''The ...
, Marisa Coulter's dæmon is referred to as a golden monkey. It was portrayed as a golden snub-nosed monkey in the TV series adaptation of the same name.
See also
* List of endangered and protected species of China
The endangered species of China may include any wildlife species designated for protection by the national government of China or listed as endangered by international organizations such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Sp ...
* Snub-nosed monkey
__NOTOC__
Snub-nosed monkeys are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus ''Rhinopithecus''. The genus is rare and not fully researched. Some taxonomists group snub-nosed monkeys together with the genus '' Pygathrix''.
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* Wildlife of China
Explanatory notes
References
; Attribution
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External links
Golden snub-nosed monkey in Maximum Card from China
* ARKive
images and movies of the Golden snub-nosed monkey ''(Rhinopithecus roxellana)''
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q756080
Endangered fauna of Asia
Endemic fauna of China
golden snub-nosed monkey
Mammals of China
Primates of East Asia
golden snub-nosed monkey
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxa named by Alphonse Milne-Edwards