Macaque

Taxobox
name = MacaquesMSW3 Groves|pages=161-165]

Aside from humans (genus "Homo"), the macaques are the most widespread primate genus, ranging from northern Africa to Japan. Twenty-two macaque species are currently recognised, and they include some of the monkeys best known to non-zoologists, such as the Rhesus Macaque (as the Rhesus Monkey), "Macaca mulatta", and the Barbary Macaque (as the Barbary Ape), "M. sylvanus", a colony of which lives on the Rock of Gibraltar. Although several species lack tails, and their common names therefore refer to them as apes, these are true monkeys, with no greater relationship to the true apes than any other Old World monkeys.

Several species of macaque are used extensively in animal testing.

In the late 1990s it was discovered that nearly all (about 90%) pet and captive macaques are carriers of the herpes-B virus. This virus is harmless to macaques, but infections of humans, while rare, are potentially fatal. A 2005 University of Toronto study showed that urban performing macaques also carried simian foamy virus, suggesting they could be involved in the species-to-species jump of similar retroviruses to humans. [ [http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/051208-1906.asp University of Toronto - News@UofT - Performing monkeys in Asia carry viruses that could jump species to humans (Dec 8/05) ] ]

Species list

Genus "Macaca"
* "M. sylvanus" group
** Barbary Macaque, "Macaca sylvanus"
* "M. nemestrina" group
** Lion-tailed Macaque, "Macaca silenus"
** Southern Pig-tailed Macaque or Beruk, "Macaca nemestrina"
** Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, "Macaca leonina"
** Pagai Island Macaque, "Macaca pagensis"
** Siberut Macaque, "Macaca siberu"
** Moor Macaque, "Macaca maura"
** Booted Macaque, "Macaca ochreata"
** Tonkean Macaque, "Macaca tonkeana"
** Heck's Macaque, "Macaca hecki"
** Gorontalo Macaque, "Macaca nigriscens"
** Celebes Crested Macaque, "Macaca nigra"
* "M. fascicularis" group
** Crab-eating Macaque, "Macaca fascicularis"
** Stump-tailed Macaque, "Macaca arctoides"
* "M. mulatta" group
** Rhesus Macaque, "Macaca mulatta"
** Formosan Rock Macaque, "Macaca cyclopis"
** Japanese Macaque, "Macaca fuscata"
* "M. sinica" group
** Toque Macaque, "Macaca sinica"
** Bonnet Macaque, "Macaca radiata"
** Assam Macaque, "Macaca assamensis"
** Tibetan Macaque, "Macaca thibetana"
** Arunachal Macaque, "Macaca munzala"

References

External links

* [http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol4no1/ostrowsk.htm CDC papers on Herpes B in macaques]
* [http://brainmaps.org/index.php?p=speciesdata&species=macaca-mulatta Macaque Monkey Brain Atlas]
*British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection [http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=covance&Player=qt&speed=_med film about macaques in laboratories] , featuring primatologists Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. Steven Brend
* [http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/links/macaca Primate Info Net "Macaca" Factsheets]