Stumptailed Macaque (Macaca arctoides)

MORPHOLOGY: This species has cheek pouches to carry food in while it forages. The average body mass for an adult male stumptailed macaque is around 7 kilograms, and for the females it is around 5 kilograms. This species has a dark brown pelage color, and the face is hairless and red in color. As from their name the stumptailed macaque has a relatively short tail. RANGE: The stumptailed macaque is found in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. This species lives in tropical, monsoon, and subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests.

ECOLOGY:
The stumptailed macaque consumes fruit, insects, small vertebrates, and immature leaves. This species also raids crops for potatoes and rice. Group sizes can be up to 50 individuals for the stumptailed macaque. This is a diurnal species.

LOCOMOTION:
The stumptailed macaque is a quadrupedal species (Fleagle, 1988).

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR:
The stumptailed macaque has a multimale-multifemale social system. Females remain in their natal group with the onset of maturity, but males will disperse shortly before adolescence. There is a hierarchical system amongst group members based upon the matriline. Males will sometimes form affiliations with infants, sometimes caring for them (Estrada and Sandoval, 1977).

VOCAL COMMUNICATION:
scream calls: This call is given by the stumptailed macaque when they approached by a non-group conspecific.

OLFACTORY COMMUNICATION:

VISUAL COMMUNICATION:
fear grimace: The lips are retracted so that the teeth are shown; the teeth are clenched together (Estes, 1991). This display functions as an appeasement signal to reduce aggression in aggressive encounters (Estes, 1991).

staring with open mouth: This is the stare accompanied by the mouth being open but the teeth are covered (Estes, 1991). This is a threat expression (Estes, 1991).

TACTILE COMMUNICATION:

REPRODUCTION:
The stumptailed macaque gives birth to a single offspring. During estrus the female’s sexual skin will become red.

REFERENCES:
Burton, F. 1995. The Multimedia Guide to the Non-human Primates. Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.

Estes, R.D. 1991. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. University of California Press.

Fleagle, J. G. 1988. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press.

Estrada, A. and Sandoval, J.M. 1977. Social Relations in a Free-ranging Troop of Stumptail Macaques (Macaca arctoides): Male-care Behaviour. Primates, Vol. 18, 793-813.

Last Updated: October 9, 2003.
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