Macaca sinica (Linnaeus, 1771)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6867065 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6863163 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/CE199B17-FFCA-FFCF-FFF1-640AF8A6F9D2 |
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Jonas |
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scientific name |
Macaca sinica |
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13. View Plate 36: Cercopithecidae
Toque Macaque
French: Macaque couronné / German: Ceylon-Hutaffe / Spanish: Macaco de Sri Lanka
Other common names: Common/Dry Zone Toque Macaque (sinica), Dusky/Lowland Wet Zone/Wet Zone Toque Macaque (aurifrons), Highland / Hill Zone Toque Macaque (opisthomelas)
Taxonomy. Simia sinica Linnaeus, 1771 View in CoL ,
no type locality.
M. sinica is a member of the sinica species group of macaques, including M. radiata , M. assamensis , M. munzala , and M. thibetana . Albinism has been reported. There are some intergradations between subspecies. Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
M.s.sinicaLinnaeus,1771—NE&SESriLanka(DryZone).
M.s.aurifronsPocock,1931—SWSriLanka(WetZonelowlandsfromthecoastto¢.2000mabovesealevel).
M.s. opisthomelas Hill, 1942 — SC Sri Lanka (montane areas above elevations of 1800 m). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 44-53 cm (males) and 40-45 cm (females), tail 51-62 cm (males) and 46-57 cm (females); weight 4.1-8.4 kg (males) and 2.3-4.3 kg (females). The Toque Macaque is the smallest of the macaque species. It is yellow-brown or golden brown on the upperside and has pale undersides. The head has a whorl of dark elongated, radiating crown hairs that form a central cap extending to the frontal brows and to the nape behind. Face is pink in males and red in females; ears, eyelid borders, and lower lips are painted black in both sexes. It has a relatively long, slender tail that is 100-144% ofits head-body length and black or dark gray above but paler underneath. Age-specific morphological changes are well pronounced in the Toque Macaque. Subspecific differences in morphology occur; e.g. the cap of “Dry Zone Toque Macaque” (M. s. sinica ) is golden brown, but the “Wet Zone Toque Macaque” (M. s. aurifrons) has strong yellow anterior crown hairs that contrast with a darker brown posterior. The “Highland Toque Macaque” (M. s. opisthomelas) is the largest of the subspecies, with relatively short and stout limbs.
Habitat. A variety of forest types such as gallery and semi-deciduous forests up to elevations of 2100 m. Toque Macaques are generally found in areas around permanent water. The Dry Zone Toque Macaque is found in dry evergreen forests, the Wet Zone Toque Macaque in lowland and midland tropical rainforest and wet-zone lowland forests (up to 3000 mm rainfall/year), and the Highland Toque Macaque in montane tropical rainforests. The Toque Macaque occasionally lives in human settlements, and it is protected around Hindu and Buddhist temples.
Food and Feeding. The Toque Macaque is largely frugivorous, and its diet is complemented with seeds, leaves, flowers, and animals such as insects, lizards, birds, and small mammals. Groups are known to raid garbage dumps, crops, and granaries.
Breeding. Female Toque Macaques have a 28day reproductive cycle. The perineum reddens without swelling, and females secrete a pungent mucus from their vaginas, which signals that they are receptive. Polyandry is common, and malesinitiate copulation. Birth usually takes place at night in the canopy but occasionally on the ground during morning hours. A single offspring is born after a gestation of ¢.168 days. Offspring have soft black natal coats and undeveloped crown caps, and they are hairless on their chests and abdomen. Nursing of the young usually lasts twelve months. Placentophagy is observed; the birthing mother, alpha female, and other female members of the group eat the placenta. Males reach sexual maturity at 5-7 years of age, and females reach sexual maturity at 4-5-6 years. Toque Macaques can live up to 30 years.
Activity patterns. Toque Macaques are largely arboreal. They sleep in forks of branches in tall trees away from the trunk.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Toque Macaques live in multimale— multifemale groupsof ¢.20 individuals, and occasionally up to 30-40 individuals. Their social organization is similar to that of the Lion-tailed Macaque ( M.silenus), the Bonnet Macaque ( M. radiata ), the Stump-tailed Macaque ( M. arctoides ), and the Barbary Macaque ( M. sylvanus ) in that it is relatively peaceful and conciliatory (higher rates of tension-reducing contacts) compared with the strong nepotism and strong linear hierarchies of the Rhesus Macaque ( M. mulatta ) and the Japanese Macaque ( M. fuscata ). The extent of kin-bias in social relationships is also lower; females are more inclined to contact, groom, and form coalitions with unrelated females. The “silent bared-teeth display,” used to demonstrate submission and subordination in Rhesus and Japanese macaques, is used by Toque Macaques as an apparently friendly gesture and as a sign of submission. Male Toque Macaques are, however, more aggressive than females, and they dominate them across all age classes. Alpha males are known to usurp and dominate resources over subadult males and low-ranking females. Such aggression and competition often result in male emigration and the formation of new groups. The highest-ranking female in the group enjoys the highest reproductive sex, and she maintains a close relationship with breeding males during periovulatory periods and at other times. Post-reproductive females are withdrawn from most social activity, but they contribute by leading the group to unfamiliar ground and also in locating lost members of the group. Juveniles associate more with breeding females than postreproductive females. Group fission is common, with large groups breaking up into smaller groups. Following such fissions, the reproductive success of individual females increases, with formerly low-ranking females getting better access to food. They also experience decreased competition and reduced aggression by adult males and highranking females. Low-ranking females form peripheral groups that are later joined by subadult males or alpha males that have lost their standing due to aggression and competition in their former groups. These peripheral groups eventually move away to form groups of their own in separate home ranges. Male emigration is common and is usually a result of intragroup competition for mates and resources. Females are philopatric and continue living in their natal groups as they age. Subadult and juvenile females display “aunting” behavior (handling and taking care of their infant sisters), and unlike Rhesus and Japanese macaques, they may also take infants of unrelated breeding females. As in other macaque societies, even adult males are attracted to infants.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List, including all three subspecies. There is no legal protection for the Toque Macaque under Sri Lankan law. All three subspecies are threatened with widespread habitat loss and by capture for the pet trade; they are even used as practice targets by the Sri Lankan and Tamil military. Relentless habitat loss within their distribution has caused a decline of ¢.50% of the overall population—a trend thatis likely to continue due to continuous loss of forest cover. The population is also affected by other stochastic events. Dry Zone Toque Macaques occur in numerous protected areas, including Flood Plains, Kaudulla, Maduru Oya, Minneriya, Yala, Somawathiya, Udawalawe, Wasgamuwa, and Wilpattu national parks. They also occurs in various sanctuaries, including Buddhangala, Kanthale Naval Sanctuary, Polonnaruwa, Randenigala, Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve, Sirigiriya, and Victoria-Randenigala-Rantambe Sanctuary, as well as Menikdena Archaeological Reserve, Elehara Forest Reserve, and Remmalakanda Forest Reserve. In south-western Sri Lanka, the hill country suffered an 80% loss ofits forests in the late 19" century, with their transformation into tea plantations and agricultural expansion for other crops. Wet Zone Toque Macaques have smaller group sizes and larger home ranges than the other subspecies, and as a result they are suffering increasingly from conflict with humans. They are found in Bellanwila-Attidiya, Muthurajawela, and Kurulu Kelle sanctuaries; Dombagaskande, Kitulgala-Kelani Valley, Rammal a Kanda, and Sinharaja forest reserves; and Thangamalai Wildlife Reserve. Highland Toque Macaques of central Sri Lanka are restricted to ¢.400 km? of remaining habitat but occupy only ¢.100 km?*. Ongoing habitat loss (coffee and tea plantations and pastures) is a serious threat to the Highland Toque Macaque.
Bibliography. Abegg & Thierry (2002a), Dittus (1977, 1988a, 1988b), Fooden (1979), Groves (2001), Hill (1942a), Keane et al. (1997), Molur et al. (2003), Ratnayeke, A.P. & Dittus (1989), Ratnayeke, S. (1994), Shotake et al. (1991), Thierry (2007, 2011).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
