- Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
Taxobox
name = Golden Snub-nosed MonkeyMSW3 Groves | pages = 174|id=12100689]
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status = EN
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref = IUCN2006 | assessors = Eudey, A. & Members of the Primate Specialist Group | year = 2000 | id = 19596 | title = Rhinopithecus roxellana | downloaded =2007-07-29 ]
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Mammalia
ordo =Primates
familia =Cercopithecidae
genus = "Rhinopithecus "
species = "R. roxellana"
binomial = "Rhinopithecus roxellana"
binomial_authority = Milne-Edwards, 1870
synonyms =The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey ("Rhinopithecus roxellana") is an
Old World monkey in theColobinae subfamily. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of centralChina , primarily around theSichuan basin . The Chinese name is Sichuan Golden Hair Monkey (川金丝猴). Snow occurs frequently within its range and it can withstand colder average temperatures than any other non-human primates.cite web | last = Gron | first = K.J. | year = 2007 | title = Primate Factsheets: Golden snub-nosed monkey ("Rhinopithecus roxellana") Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology | url = http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/golden_snub-nosed_monkey | accessdate = 2008-01-28] Its diet varies markedly with the seasons, but it is primarily an herbivore withlichen s being its main food source. It is diurnal and largely arboreal, spending some 97% of their time in the canopy. There are three subspecies. Population estimates range from 8,000 to 15,000 and it is threatened byhabitat loss .Range
The distribution range of Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is limited to the mountains in four provinces in China:
Sichuan ,Gansu ,Shaanxi , andHubei . In Gansu, the range include two mountain ranges: Min (岷) Mountains and Qionlai (邛崃) Mountains. In Shaanxi, the range is limited to the southern slope ofQinling Mountains . In Hubei, the range is limited to Shennongjia (神农架) Mountains. In Sichuan, the range includes Wu (巫) Mountains, Min (岷) Mountains and Qionlai (邛崃) Mountains, Daxue (大雪) Mountains, Xiaoliang (小凉) Mountains. Although these protected areas totaled more than km2 to mi2|2500|abbr=yes|wiki=yes|precision=0, the actual range fit for the survival of the species is much smaller because the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey heavily depends on dense forests. Due to illegal logging and habitat loss to environmental destruction, the dense forests critical to the survival of the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey in these protected regions only consisted of one fifth of the total area.fact|date=May 2008In Shennongjia (神农架) Mountains, the distribution range of the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is only limited to three counties: Fang (房), Xinshan (兴山) and Badong (巴东) counties. There are only four groups, with the largest group sizing around 120 monkeys. There are around 53 groups scattered on the southern slope of Qinling Mountains, and the small groups usually have around 50 monkeys, and 100 for large groups, except one group, the largest with 300 monkeys. In eastern Sichuan, there are only 2 or 3 groups scattered in the Wu (巫) Mountains, totaling less than 100. The size of the group is larger for those scattered in the border region of Sichuan and Gansu, ususlly around 100 to 200.fact|date=May 2008
Reproduction
The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey can mate year round, but August, September and October are the peak of mating. After a gestation period of six months, babies are often born in March or April, but sometimes in February and May. Females mature sexually at 4—5 years old, 7 years for males. Although there are more males than females in any groups, males leave the group when becoming adult and the adult male to female ratio is nearly always 1:2. Adult male averaging cm to in|68|abbr=yes|wiki=yes|precision=1 in size, with another cm to in|68.5|abbr=yes|wiki=no|precision=1 for the tail.fact|date=May 2008
ubspecies
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