Douc

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Douc

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Subfamily:	Colobinae
Genus:	Pygathrix É. Geoffroy, 1812

Type species

Simia nemaeus
Linnaeus, 1771

Species

Pygathrix nemaeus
Pygathrix nigripes
Pygathrix cinerea

The doucs or douc langurs make up the genus Pygathrix, which consists of these 3 species:

Red-shanked Douc, Pygathrix nemaeus
Black-shanked Douc, Pygathrix nigripes
Gray-shanked Douc, Pygathrix cinerea

These colobine Old World monkeys have an extremely striking appearance. The Red-shanked Douc characteristically has bright maroon legs and reddish patches around the eyes. In contrast, the Grey-shanked Douc is less vibrant, with speckled grey legs and orange markings on the face. Both have dappled grey bodies, black hands and feet and white cheeks, although the cheek hairs of the Red-shanked Douc are much longer. The Black-shanked Douc has black legs. Their long hind limbs and tail allow these monkeys to be wonderfully agile in their treetop habitat.

Even though they are known as "douc langurs", they are in fact more closely related to the Proboscis Monkey and snub-nosed monkeys, than to any of the langurs. They are part of the Colobinae subfamily of the Cercopithecidae family.

[edit] References

Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 173. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.