Macaca munzala, Sinha, 2005
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6867065 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6863169 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/CE199B17-FFCE-FFCB-FFE0-6D36F897F89B |
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treatment provided by |
Jonas |
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scientific name |
Macaca munzala |
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16. View Plate 36: Cercopithecidae
Arunachal Macaque
French: Macaque d'Arunachal / German: Arunachal-Makak / Spanish: Macaco de Arunachal
Taxonomy. Macaca munzala Sinha et al., 2005 View in CoL ,
Zemithang (27° 42’ N, 91°43’ E, at 2180 m above sea level), Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
M. munzala 1s a member of the sinica species group of macaques, including M. sinica , M. radiata , and M. thibetana . It is sympatric with M. assamensis pelops, and recent publications indicate that it may be a variation of that species. A revision of the taxonomy of M. assamensis will help resolve the status of M. munzala . Given the paucity of information and much-needed detailed studies, however, M. munzala is retained here as a distinct species. Monotypic.
Distribution. NE India (W Arunachal Pradesh State), in the districts of Tawang and West Kameng at elevations of 2000-3000 m; it possibly extends into Bhutan and Xizang Autonomous Region (= Tibet) in S China. There are reports of its occurrence in Mouling National Park in the Upper Siang District of C Arunachal Pradesh, but they have yet to be confirmed. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 57-5 cm, tail 26-4 cm; weight 14 kg. The Arunachal Macaque is characterized by a dark, chocolate-brown body, dark crown patch, and a whip-like short tail. It has a prognathous head (jaws projecting beyond the upper part of the face), with the upper part of the face broader than the muzzle. There is a dark patch of hair on the temple, extending from lateral corners of the eyes or cheeks to the ears (a species-specific trait). Front of the crown has a prominent pale-yellow patch, with a central group of dark hairs forming a whorl or an erect tuft. Coat color varies seasonally. Features said to distinguish it from the Assamese Macaque (M. assamensis ) include their extremely dark color, hairy underside of the body, relatively stocky short tail, dark brown facial skin, distinctive facial marks on the temple and forehead, and lack of prominent chin or cheek whiskers. All Arunachal Macaques have the prominent dark patch on their crowns, while Assamese Macaques have smooth short hair and pale crowns. “Western Assamese Macaques” (M. a. pelops) have longer tails than Arunachal Macaques.
Habitat. Dense Bhutan fir ( Abies densa, Pinaceae ) montane forests at elevations of 2000-3000 m (unconfirmed reports extend their range to as high as 3500 m) and a range of habitats such as degraded broadleaved forests, degraded open scrub forests, agricultural areas, and oak and conifer forest. No other macaque in the Indian subcontinent occurs at these high elevations. Arunachal Macaques are quite tolerant of human-modified areas, sometimes ranging close to villages and fields.
Food and Feeding. Diets of Arunachal Macaques vary by season. High-quality nutritious foods are rare or unavailable in winter, and they subsist on a low-energy, fibrous diet, spending ¢.75% of their feeding time on pith from such species as Erythrina (Fabaceae) and flowering plants such as Elaeagnus parvifolia (Elacagnaceae) ; they spend more than 5% of their feeding eating on bark. In spring, they feed on young leaves. To survive winter, Arunachal Macaques subsist on a less diverse but high-fiber diet in the absence of high-energy food types, and they increase the time they spend feeding to up to 66% of the day.
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Social structure of the Arunachal Macaque is matrifocal, and relations among groups are generally tolerant and peaceful. The average group size is 21 individuals (range 5-43). Home ranges contract in winter, sometimes restricted to areas with Erythrina . Densities in the Zemithang area of the Tawang District are 0-94 groups/km? or 22 ind/km?.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Endangered on The [UCN Red List. The Arunachal Macaque has yet to be listed on the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. There are considerable differences in population estimates, with one source estimating more than 550 individuals and another estimating less than 250 mature individuals in less than 5000 km®. Anthropogenic disturbances such as tree felling, livestock grazing, and the collection ofleaflitter are some of the habitat threats. A major threat comes from their persecution as crop raiders (e.g. of maize and millet). They are snared and shot because of this. In one instance alone, 54 Arunachal Macaques were killed in a village in West Kameng District. They are sometimes kept as pets. Culturally sensitive and participatory awareness programs, crop alternatives to avoid financial losses to villagers, mitigating retaliatory killing due to crop raiding using deterrents and better crop protection measures, crop compensation and insurance programs, and a thorough understanding of crop-raiding patterns could be appropriate crop-raiding mitigation strategies. Many of the people of Tawang and high elevations of West Kameng belong to Monpa communities that are predominantly Buddhist and do not hunt macaques for food. The Arunachal Macaque occurs in Tsangyang Gyatso Biological Reserve and probably Mouling National Park of north-eastern India.
Bibliography. Biswas et al. (2011), Chakraborty et al. (2007), Choudhury (2004), Kumar, R.S., Gama et al. (2008), Kumar, R.S., Mishra et al. (2007), Mendiratta et al. (2009), Mishra & Sinha (2008), Sinha, Datta et al. (2005), Sinha, Kumar et al. (2006).
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.
