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Northern plains gray langur

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Northern plains gray langur
CITESAppendix I(CITES)[2]
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Semnopithecus
Species:
S. entellus[1]
Binomial name
Semnopithecus entellus[1]
(Dufresne,1797)
Northern plains gray langur range

Thenorthern plains gray langur(Semnopithecus entellus), also known as thesacred langur,Bengal sacred langurandHanuman langur,is a species ofprimatein the familyCercopithecidae.

Taxonomy

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The northern plains gray langur belongs to the genusSemnopithecusalong with the other Indian langurs. Thesouthern plains gray langurwas once classified as a subspecies ofS. entellus,i.e.,S. entellus dussumieriand later regarded as a separate species, i.e.,S. dussumieri,but is now regarded as an invalid taxon.[3][4][5]Most of the specimens that had been regarded asSemnopithecus dussumierifall within the revised range ofSemnopithecus entellus.[6]

Description

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The fur of adults is mostly light colored, with darker fur on the back and limbs, and the face, ears, hands and feet are all black. Infants are brown.[7]Body size excluding tail ranges from 45.1 cm (17.8 in) to 78.4 cm (30.9 in) long, and the tail length is between 80.3 cm (31.6 in) and 111.8 cm (44.0 in).[7][6]Adult males weigh between 16.9 kg (37 lb) and 19.5 kg (43 lb) while adult females weigh between 9.5 kg (21 lb) and 16.1 kg (35 lb).[6][7]

Distribution and habitat

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The range of the northern plains gray langur covers a large portion ofIndiasouth of theHimalayassouth to theTapti Riverand theKrishna River.[6][7] It is thought to have been introduced to westernBangladeshbyHindupilgrims on the bank of theJalangi River.[2]

Behaviour and ecology

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Family perched on concrete ledge
Mother breastfeeding infant inRanthambore National Park

The northern plains gray langur is diurnal, and is bothterrestrialandarboreal.[7]Its naturalhabitatsare subtropical or tropical dryforestsand subtropical or tropical dryshrubland.[2]Females groom members of both sexes but males do not groom others.[7]

The northern plains gray langur can live in several different types of groups. It can live in groups of multiple males and females, one male and multiple females or multiple males with no females, and males can also live alone without a group.[7]Single male groups are most common.[7]Group size can exceed 100 monkeys.[7]Upon reaching maturity, males typically emigrate from their natal group while females typically remain.[6][7]Young adult females are typically dominant over older females.[6]When a new male takes over a group it may engage in infanticide of young fathered by the previous male or males, but this is less common when the takeover occurs slowly over several months.[6][7]

The northern plains gray langur eats primarily fruits and leaves.[7]It is able to survive on mature leaves, which is a key to its ability to survive throughout the dry season.[6]It also eats seeds, flowers, buds, bark and insects, including caterpillars.[6]It is also fed fruits and vegetables by humans, and some groups get a substantial portion of their diets from food provided by temples and from raiding crops.[7]

Groups that have access to abundant food year-round, for example those that are provisioned by temples or are able to raid crops year-round, also breed throughout the year.[6]Other groups, such as those living in forests, typically give birth between December and May.[6]Thegestationperiod is about 200 days.[6]Females other than the motheralloparentthe infant for the first month of its life.[6]Weaning occurs at about 1 year and males reach maturity at about 6 to 7 year old.[6]

The northern plains gray langur often associates withchitaldeer. Both species respond to each other's alarm calls.[7]The chital seem to benefit from the vigilance of male langurs watching for predators in the trees, while the langurs seem to benefit from the chital's better senses of smell and hearing.[6]It also has been observed engaging in grooming sessions withrhesus macaques.[8]

Conservation

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A captive gray langur. According to the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, it is illegal to hold the species in captivity.

The northern plains gray langur is listed asleast concernon theIUCN Red List,it is threatened byhabitat loss.[2]The northern plains gray langur adapts to many habitats and theHindureligion considers the northern plains gray langur to be sacred.[7]Hence it has large population within India, including within towns and cities.[7]It is subject to some threats, including road kill, attacks by dogs, forest fires and diseases caught from domestic animals.[2][7]It is sometimes hunted for food, especially within the states ofOdishaandAndhra Pradeshand is sometimes killed by humans to prevent it from raiding crops.[2]

Late 19th century lithograph from Bengal, depictingRama&Sitaenthroned, surrounded byLakshmana,Bharata,Shatrughna&Vibhishana.A notable feature of Bengal art is depiction ofHanumanbased on the anthropomorphised version of the native grey langur species, as opposed to that based on the rhesus macaque native to upper Gangetic plains &Jambavanbased on theHimalayan black bear.
Kalighat paintingof the same period depicting Hanuman (whose appearance is based on the grey langur) being taken captive byLava&Kusha,an event from the Uttarakanda of the Hindu epicRamayana.

Captive gray langurs are used inDelhito scare offrhesus macaques,which steal from and sometimes attack people.[9][10]

References

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  1. ^Groves, C. P.(2005)."SpeciesSemnopithecus entellus".InWilson, D. E.;Reeder, D. M. (eds.).Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference(3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 166.ISBN0-801-88221-4.OCLC62265494.
  2. ^abcdefgKumara, H.N.; Kumar, A. & Singh, M. (2020)."Semnopithecus entellus".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2020:e.T39832A17942050.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T39832A17942050.en.Retrieved17 January2022.
  3. ^Groves, C.P.; Chhangani, A. (2008)."Semnopithecus dussumieri".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2008:e.T39835A10274796.
  4. ^Nag, C.; Karanth, P. (2011)."Taxonomic implications of a field study of morphotypes of hanuman langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) in Peninsular India "(PDF).International Journal of Primatology.32(4): 830–848.doi:10.1007/s10764-011-9504-0.S2CID22233326.
  5. ^Roos, C.; Boonratana, R.; Supriatna, J.; Fellowes, J.R.; Groves, C.P.; Nash, S.D.; Rylands, A.B.; Mittermeier, R.A. (2014)."An updated taxonomy and conservation status review of Asian primates"(PDF).Asian Primates Journal.4(1): 2−38.
  6. ^abcdefghijklmnoAnandam, M.V.; Karanth, K.P. & Molur, S. (2013). Mittermeier, R.A.; Rylands, A.B. & Wilson, D.E. (eds.).Handbook of the Mammals of the World.Vol. Volume 3: Primates. Lynx Ediciones. p. 733.ISBN978-8496553897.
  7. ^abcdefghijklmnopqMcQuinn, A. (2016). Rowe, N. & Myers, M. (eds.).All the World's Primates.Pogonias Press. pp. 578–579.ISBN9781940496061.
  8. ^Lee, Z.H.; Ang, A.; Ruppert, N. (26 August 2021)."First record of interspecies grooming between raffles' banded langur and long-tailed macaque".Journal of Threatened Taxa.13(9): 19246–19253.doi:10.11609/jott.7510.13.9.19246-19253.Retrieved2021-09-05.
  9. ^Sidner, S. (2010)."In India, authorities fight monkeys with monkeys".CNN.Retrieved2020-04-19.
  10. ^Tapper, J. (2014)."Delhi's 30,000 unruly monkeys steal stuff, terrorize people and even kill".Public Radio International.Retrieved19 April2020.
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