Crab-eating Macaque

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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Crab-eating Macaque | status = nt | image = Crab-Eating Makaque.jpg | image_width = 200px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Mammalia | ordo = Primates | familia = Cercopithecidae | genus = Macaca | species = M. fascicularis | binomial = Macaca fascicularis | binomial_authority = Raffles, 1821 }}

The Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is a primarily arboreal macaque native to Southeast Asia. It is also called the Cynomolgus Monkey and the Long-tailed Macaque.

M. fascicularis has been used extensively in medical experiments, in particular those connected with neuroscience. It has also been identified as a possible vector for monkeypox and is a known carrier of B-virus (Herpesvirus simiae). It is one of the types of monkeys that have been flown into space.

Being "ecologically diverse", the Crab-eating Macaque is found in a wide variety of habitats, including primary lowland rainforests, disturbed and secondary rainforests, and riverine and coastal forests of nipa palm and mangrove. Typically it prefers disturbed habitats and on the periphery of forests. The species is found throughout most of Southeast Asia, including the Malay Archipelago islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, as well as in the country of the Philippines, and the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It is an introduced alien species in several places, including Hong Kong, western New Guinea, Anggaur Island in Palau, and Mauritius, where it was believed to be one of the main factors in the extinction of the dodo.

1 Diet
2 Description
3 Scientific name
4 Conservation status
5 Subspecies
6 References
7 External links

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Diet

Despite its common name, the Crab-eating Macaque is an opportunistic omnivore, meaning it can and will eat a wide variety of animals, plants, and other materials. Although fruits and seeds make up 60 - 90% of the dietary intake, it also eats leaves, flowers, roots and bark. It also preys on vertebrates (including bird chicks and nesting female birds), invertebrates, and bird eggs. Although it is ecologically well-adapted in its native range and poses no particular threat to the overall populations of prey species, in areas where the Crab-eating Macaque is non-native it can pose a substantial threat to biodiversity.

The Long-tailed Macaque is sometimes known as a "crop-raider", feeding in cultivated fields on such items as young dry rice, cassava leaves, rubber fruit, taro plants, coconuts, mangos, and other crops, thus causing economic damage to local farmers. It also takes food from graveyards, garbage cans, and garbage pits. The species is often unafraid of humans, and is found in many cities and villages. It has been involved in aggressive interactions with people.

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Description

The Crab-eating Macaque is born with black fur, but the fur turns to a yellow-green, grey-green, or reddish-brown shade as it grows. It has a dark snout and bluish abdominal skin. It lives in groups of between 20 to 60 individuals. Generally there are about 2-3 adult females for every adult male. It is unknown how long it lives in the wild, but in captivity it has been known to live for up to 38 years.

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Scientific name

The Crab-eating Macaque's scientific name is Macaca fascicularis. Macaca comes from the Portuguese word macaco, which was picked up from makaku, a Fiot (West African language) word (kaku means 'monkey' in Fiot). Fascicularis is Latin for 'a small band'. Sir Thomas Raffles, who gave the animal its scientific name in 1821, did not specify what he meant by the use of this word although it is presumed it had something to do with his observation of the animal's color.

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Conservation status

The Crab-eating Macaque has one of the widest native ranges of any monkey. Since the wild harvest of the species for medical research has largely ended due to captive-bred animals, the total population of M. fascicularis is not under significant threat. The IUCN Red List categorizes the species as "Lower Risk"; and CITES lists it as Appendix II ("not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival".

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