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Mammals · Primates · Cercopithecidae
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
Rhinopithecus roxellana
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The golden snub-nosed monkey is a spectacular primate of central China: golden-orange fur, a pale blue face and an almost absent nose, reduced to two upturned openings. It lives in mountain forests where snow covers the ground for several months of the year, which makes it one of the primates that endure the coldest climate. In winter, when fruit and leaves are scarce, its diet turns to the lichens growing on the branches, a resource almost no other primate exploits.
Weight
6.5 kg – 20 kg
Size
50 cm – 77 cm
Lifespan
25 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Herd
Lives in large groups as a strategy against predators.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- It forms the largest aggregations known in any non-human primate: bands of several hundred animals made up of dozens of family units moving together.
- Its scientific name, roxellana, alludes to the wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, supposedly because of her upturned nose.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Temperate montane conifer and broadleaf forest of central China, up to 3,400 m
- Size at birth
- Born with its eyes open, clinging to its mother's fur from the first day
- Sexual maturity
- 5 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 6.5 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinopithecus_roxellana
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year in the mountain forests of Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hubei; in winter they move down in altitude and the troops, hundreds strong, are easier to find.
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Golden Snub-nosed Monkey — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Southern Pig-tailed Macaque
Macaca nemestrina
Black Snub-nosed Monkey
Rhinopithecus bieti
Phayre’s Leaf-monkey
Trachypithecus phayrei
EndangeredDhole
Cuon alpinus
EndangeredRed Panda
Ailurus fulgens
Assamese Macaque
Macaca assamensis
How to help
The golden snub-nosed monkey is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 6 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about golden snub-nosed monkey.
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