Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey

The golden snub-nosed monkey is an Old World monkey in the subfamily Colobinae. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. They inhabit these mountainous forests of Southwestern China at elevations of 1,500–3,400 m above sea level. Snub-nosed monkeys have golden-orange foreheads, necks and stomachs, with darker markings around their crown, nape, outer arms, thighs and tail. Infants are a creamy gray-brown. Golden snub-nosed monkeys have pale blue faces with flat noses and large canines. With only an estimated 3,000 golden snub-nosed left in the wild, it is now considered the world's most endangered primate species. Due to habitat loss, the golden snub-nosed monkey population has been greatly impacted. The adult and subadult golden snub-nosed monkey is sexually dimorphic. Adult males (estimated at over 7 years of age) have large bodies covered with very long, golden guard hairs on their backs and cape area. The crest is medium brown while the back, crown to nape, arms and outer thighs are deep brown. There are some 8,000 to 10,000 golden snub-nosed monkeys in the wild, and they are not in immediate danger of extinction. The black and gray species, however, number fewer than 1,500 each; the gray is protected, but the black is hunted, and its habitat is being deforested to provide cattle pasture.

Conservation status: Endangered (Population decreasing)

Scientific name: Rhinopithecus roxellana

Mass: 30 lbs (Adult)

Trophic level: Herbivorous

Length: 2.1 ft. (Adult)

Gestation period: 199 days

Family: Cercopithecidae