Are Monkeys Mammals? A Detailed Explanation of Monkey Animal Classification
Every time you visit a large park, you will encounter some monkeys, and occasionally see them snatching food, imitating human movements, and so on. So are monkeys mammals?
1. Are monkeys mammals?
Monkeys are mammals. Because monkeys are animals of the class Mammalia, and are members of the order Primates, one of the three types of apes. They generally have well-developed brains and relatively high intelligence, with eye sockets facing forward, and separated and very flexible toes on their hands and feet. Their hands have a certain level of manipulative function, and they sometimes imitate human movements.
2. Is it illegal to keep monkeys?
Keeping monkeys is illegal. However, individuals are not completely unable to keep monkeys. If you obtain a “Wildlife Domestication and Breeding License” from the local forestry management department, you can then keep monkey species below the national second-class protection level. It should be noted that monkeys are animals with very large emotional fluctuations. If kept in cages, they lose the meaning of being a pet. If kept on a leash, excellent monkey-training skills are required, otherwise escape and injury to people are likely to occur. Therefore, there are currently not many people who keep monkeys as pets. Please consider carefully.
National first-class protected monkeys:
1. Golden snub-nosed monkey: There are 6 species of golden snub-nosed monkeys: the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey, the Nujiang snub-nosed monkey, the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, and the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey. Among them, except for the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey and the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, all are rare animals endemic to China. They are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2012 Red List of Threatened Species ver3.1——Endangered, and are also national first-class protected animals.
2. Slow loris: The slow loris is a monkey of the genus Nycticebus in the order Primates, with 9 subspecies. It is relatively small in size and slow in movement, and is a relatively primitive type of monkey. It inhabits tropical rainforests and subtropical monsoon forests, living entirely in trees and rarely coming down to the ground, and prefers to be active alone. Its movements are especially slow, and only speed up when it is attacked, hence it is also called the “lazy loris.” It is distributed in Yunnan and southern Guangxi, and is mostly distributed in Southeast Asia. It is a national first-class protected animal.
3. Assamese macaque: The Assamese macaque is a monkey of the genus Macaca in the order Primates. Its body size is similar to that of the rhesus macaque. It mainly inhabits monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests, deciduous broad-leaved forests, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, or high-mountain dark coniferous forests. It mainly feeds on wild fruits and fresh twigs and tender leaves of plants, and also eats some insects, amphibians, and small birds.
4. Formosan rock macaque: The Formosan rock macaque is endemic to China. Its body shape closely resembles that of the rhesus macaque, but its body is grayer and its tail is darker. Their tails all exceed one-half of their body length, though the tail of the Formosan rock macaque is proportionally somewhat longer, and it is also smaller and fatter than the rhesus macaque. It inhabits rock walls and mountain forests, is a semi-terrestrial animal, and feeds on various wild fruits, leaves, and insects. It sometimes also steals grain and melons and fruits from farm households.
5. Pig-tailed macaque: The pig-tailed macaque has a body length of 54-62 cm and a relatively stout build, with a flat top of the head and radiating dark brown crown hair. It inhabits tropical and subtropical forests or lower-altitude coniferous forests, lives an arboreal life, likes to live in groups, feeds on plant fruits, and also preys on insects and small birds.
6. Langur: China has 6 species of langurs, namely the François' langur, the white-headed langur, the long-tailed langur, the Phayre's langur, the capped langur, and the white-rumped langur, all of which are national first-class protected animals of China. They originated in Europe, and their ancestors went from Europe through Africa to Asia, first entering Southeast Asia, and then along river valleys or lowlands entered the subtropical forests with tropical karst landforms in South China and Southwest China, where they survived and reproduced in their current distribution areas and formed dominant populations.
7. Gibbon: The gibbon is a national first-class protected animal. It is named for its long forearms. It has 44 chromosomes and is the smallest type of ape, as well as one of the fastest and most agile in movement. Together with the three kinds of orangutans, they are called the “four great apes.” There are currently 7 species in the world, and China has 5 species of gibbons, namely the lar gibbon, the hoolock gibbon, the Hainan black-crested gibbon, the black gibbon, and the white-cheeked gibbon.