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Order : PRIMATES
Family : Cercopithecidae
Species : Macaca nigra
Head-body length : up to 57 cm
Tail length : 2 cm
Weight, male : up to 10 kg
Weight, female : up to 6 kg
The Celebes Crested Macaque occurs in a wide variety
of habitats in its original home on the extreme northeastern tip of the Indonesian island of
Sulawesi (formerly known as 'Celebes'). Such habitats include inland and
coastal forest, mangrove, secondary forest and agricultural areas. The
population density of the species, however, is lower in non-forest habitats.
The species is also called the Crested
Black Macaque, or 'Black Ape', though the latter is a misleading name as
this is not an 'ape' but a monkey, as it possesses a tail.
The species appears markedly different from other macaques. Its fur is jet
black throughout, and on the crown the fur is raised into a pointed crest.
Males are considerably larger than females, weighting up to 10 kg, and they
bear enlarged canines. The muzzle is very pronounced, and the brow
prominent.
The tail is short, measuring just 2 cm, and the rump is devoid of fur. When
females are sexually receptive their rumps turn reddish and become swollen
to an extreme degree.
The species spends more time on the ground than in the trees, travelling in
troupes of widely different size but generally of around 20 individuals or
so, though a maximum troupe size of 97 has been reported from Tangkoko.
Their diet comprises mainly fruits, but this is supplemented by a wide
variety of other vegetation (leaves, flowers, fungi etc) as well as
occasional vertebrates (birds and their eggs, frogs, lizards etc.).
On Sulawesi, the Tangkoko-Batuangas Nature Reserve, dominated by the
forested slopes of Gunung Tangkoko, a dormant volcano, is a core protected
area for this unusual macaque.
The species also occurs on the island of Bacan, hundreds of kilometres to
the east, where it was introduced in the 19th century, and where a large population exists to this day.
Fig 1 : Adult macaque in the Batuputih area of
Tangkoko-Batuangas Nature Reserve.
Fig 2 : The forested slopes of Mount Tangkoko (height = 1351m) protect an
important population of the species.
Fig 3 : A pale-faced juvenile is well-protected by its mother.
Fig 4 : Adult, probably female, active on the forest floor.
Figs 1, 3 and 4 photos thanks to Horst Flotow.
References :
Cawthon Lang KA. 2006 February 2. Primate Factsheets: Crested
black macaque (Macaca nigra) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology .
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