Black Snub-nosed Monkey
Encyclopedia
The black snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti), also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 of primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...

 in the Cercopithecidae family. It is endemic to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, where it is known to the locals as the Yunnan golden hair monkey (滇金丝猴) and the black golden hair monkey (黑金丝猴). It is threatened by habitat loss.

The black snub-nosed monkey is a large, stocky and well-furred primate belonging to the leaf-monkey Colobinae
Colobinae
Colobinae is a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 59 species in 10 genera, including the skunk-like black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications split the colobine monkeys into two tribes, while others split them into...

 subfamily. Despite its morphological distinctiveness and noteworthy biology this is one of the lesser known primate species. In recent years, however, knowledge about the behavior and ecology of the black snub-nosed monkey has grown. Lack of information is mainly a result of difficult research conditions due to the monkey's semi-nomadic lifestyle, elusive nature and inhospitable habitat with extremely steep hillsides, impenetrable bamboo thickets, freezing winter climate with snow as well as damp and foggy summers with minimum visibility.

This species has a highly restricted distribution in the biodiversity hotspot of the Hengduan Mountains which borders the Himalaya range. The actual distribution range is limited to the Yun Ridge (云岭) portion of the Hengduan Mountains. Only 17 groups with a total population of less than 1,700 animals have survived in northwest Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

 and neighboring regions in the Autonomous Prefecture of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

. Group size is small, typically only 20 to 60; groups of over 100 have never been observed. The territory of each group varies from 20 to 135 square km.

The black snub-nosed monkey was almost completely unknown until the 1990s. The fact that no single zoo outside China has ever kept the black snub-nosed monkey in captivity has contributed to the enigmatic status of this species. Several recent studies have come up with extraordinary discoveries regarding its natural history. The black snub-nosed monkey lives in one of the most extreme environments of any nonhuman primate. Its habitat is either pure temperate coniferous forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 or deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

/evergreen broadleaf and coniferous forest. The highest recorded altitude of a group of this species is 4700 m. The black snub-nosed monkey lives in very large super-groups which are made up of single-male core families or harems. The monkey moves fast and far in a cohesive group and covers vast areas in search of lichens and other seasonally available food items. The reproduction cycles of black snob-nosed monkey is generally similar to that of golden snub-nosed monkey
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
The golden snub-nosed monkey is an Old World monkey in the Colobinae subfamily. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. The Chinese name is sichuan golden hair monkey . It is also widely referred to as the sichuan snub-nosed monkey...

s, except the time of birth is often two to three months later due to colder climate. The average size of adult male black snub-nosed monkey is between 74 - 83 cm, excluding the tail, which averages 51 - 72 cm. Females are smaller than males.

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