Myanmar snub-nosed monkey

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Myanmar snub-nosed monkey

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Rhinopithecus
Species:
R. strykeri
Binomial name
Rhinopithecus strykeri
Geissmann et al., 2010

The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey

novel species of primate in 2011 based on its fur, beard and tail. Two groups of the species were discovered in China in 2011 and 2015, respectively.[3][6]

The species is known in local

nostrils. People from the area report that it sits with its head directed downwards, hiding its face between its knees when it rains.[8]

Discovery and taxonomy

The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was first discovered in 2010 from Gaoligong Mountains of northeastern Kachin state in Myanmar. The species came to the attention of a team of scientists allied to the "Myanmar Primate Conservation Program"

philanthropist Jon Stryker, president and founder of the Arcus Foundation, which also sponsored the project.[11][12]

The

University of Zürich. Additional sample skulls of animals killed some three years earlier, one male and one female, were also collected along with a bag made out of the skin of a juvenile caught in January 2010, all obtained in Htantan village.[4]

The team encountered seven live specimens, including an infant, but these moved out of sight before they could be photographed or studied in detail.

Yunnan Province and Salween River Basin in China.[3][6] A camera trap set by a team of FFI, BANCA and PRCF researchers captured the first known images of live snub-nosed monkeys in January 2012.[13]

Physical characteristics

The monkey's fur is mostly black. Its crown consists of a thin, high, forward-curved crest of long, black hairs. It has protruding white ear tufts, a mostly naked face with pale pink skin, a "moustache" of whitish hairs above the upper lip, and a distinct white chin beard. The perineal area is white and clearly defined, and the limbs are mostly black; the inner sides of the upper arms and upper legs are blackish brown. The lips are prominent, and the nose upturned, allegedly causing the animal to sneeze in rainy weather.[14]

As in other snub-nosed monkeys (members of Rhinopithecus) there is distinct sexual dimorphism with males having relatively larger bodies.[3] Their tails are relatively long and normally approximately 1.4 times their body length. The first found specimen, an adult male, has a height of 55.5 centimetres (21.9 in), and a tail 78 cm (31 in) long.[15] From several specimens available, males on average measure 55.5 cm in height with 78 cm tail length, weighing 17 kg; while females are 53 cm tall with 64.5 cm tail length, and weighing 9 to 11.6 kg.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The species spend summer months in temperate mixed forests at upper elevations of their range, and descend to lower ground in the winter to escape snow.[16] In contrast to other snub-nosed monkeys which are mostly ground dwellers, the Myanmar snub-nosed monkeys are highly arboreal in habitat behaviour spending much of their times on trees.[3] Males are outnumbered females by 1 to 2.1.[17]

When first discovered, the only known specimens existed in three or four groups within a 270 square kilometres (100 sq mi) range at 1,700 to 3,200 metres (5,600–10,500 ft) above sea level in the eastern

black, gray and Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys, are found in China and Vietnam.[10] The species shares habitat with Shortridge's langur, stump-tailed macaque, Assam macaque, rhesus macaque, and northern pig-tailed macaque.[19]

On the morning of 16 October 2011, a forest guard at Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve in China took photos of a group of snub-nosed monkeys which were later identified as R. strykeri. This made a breaking headline in China especially on the urgent need for a conservation programme.[6]

Habitat evaluation study shows that the Myanmar or black snub-nosed monkeys' habitat are covering 3670 km2 in Sino-Myanmar border, including core habitat of 1420 km2 .[20]

Feeding habit study shows this species can consume more than 170 plant species and fungal foods, 15 species of lichens.[21]

Conservation status

IUCN.[1] The Chinese population is found within the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve.[6][23] In 2020, with technical input from Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and the Rainforest Trust, the Myanmar Forest department designated a new protected area called Imawbum National Park (386,176 acres) to protect the high-elevation forests in which the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey lives.[24]

Origin and evolution

Snub-nosed monkeys and the

Indochina and Sundaland. The snub-nosed group diverged from other Asian monkeys about 6.8-6 million years ago, and from Nasalis and Simia clade about 1.2 Ma. Further, various species of the snub-nosed group split from each other about 730,000-400,000 years ago.[27]

Recognition

Taxonomic experts at the International Institute for Species Exploration honoured the monkey species as one of the Top 10 New Species 2012 among new species described in 2011 throughout the world. Its unique appearance, behaviour and vulnerability make it outstanding and not only in novelty, but also in conservation issues. It has even earned a new nickname "the sneezing monkey" for its peculiar behaviour.[28]

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T13508501A17943490.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^
    S2CID 88764197
    .
  4. ^
    S2CID 467234
    .
  5. PMID 36090144
    .
  6. ^
    S2CID 205329996
    .
  7. ^ Wheeler Q (18 December 2011). "New to Nature No 61: Rhinopithecus strykeri". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  8. ^
    National Geographic
    Retrieved 28 Oct 2010
  9. ^ a b c "FFI discovers new species of snub-nosed monkey | News | Fauna & Flora International". Fauna-flora.org. Archived from the original on 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  10. ^ a b "New snub-nosed monkey from Northern Myanmar: Rhinopithecus strykeri". Primatology.net. 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  11. physorg.com
    Retrieved 28 Oct 2010
  12. ^ "Arcus Foundation | Push Boundaries. Make Change".
  13. ^ Catterick, Ally (10 January 2012). "First images of newly discovered primate: World's first look at the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey". Fauna & Flora International. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  14. ^ a b Ella Davies (27 October 2010). "New species of snub-nosed monkey discovered in Myanmar". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2010.: "The monkeys allegedly sneeze audibly when rainwater gets in their noses and local people said they could be found with their heads tucked between their knees on rainy days.".
  15. S2CID 467234
    .
  16. ^ 25 October 2010 Wiley - Blackwell. "New Snub-Nosed Monkey Discovered in Northern Myanmar". Alphagalileo.org. Retrieved 2010-10-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Guangsong, L. I.; Yixin, Chen; Wenmo, S. U. N.; Xinwen, Wang; Zhipang, Huang; Yanpeng, L. I.; Zuofu, Xiang; Wei, Ding; Wen, Xiao; Ming, L. I. (2014). "Preliminary observation of population status and social organization of Rhinopithecus strykeri in Pianma Town,Nujiang County,China". Acta Theriologica Sinica. 34 (4): 323.
  18. ^ a b ScienceDaily (July 26, 2012). First Photo Evidence of Snub-Nosed Monkey Species in China. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  19. S2CID 467234
    .
  20. ISSN 0006-3207
    .
  21. S2CID 71145324
    .
  22. S2CID 467234
    .
  23. ^ "New hope for critically endangered Myanmar snub-nosed monkey". Deutsches Primatenzentrum (in German). Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  24. ^ Williams, Nathan (7 April 2020). "New protected area raises hopes for critically endangered monkey". Fauna and Flora International. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  25. PMID 21435245
    .
  26. PMID 21436896
    .
  27. PMID 22616004
    .
  28. ^ Murray R (23 May 2012). "Top 10 New Species list includes sneezing monkey, blue tarantula and night-blooming orchid". Daily News. NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26.

External links

Wikispecies has information related to Rhinopithecus strykeri.
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