| Gray snub-nosed monkey[1] | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Genus: | Rhinopithecus |
| Species: | R. brelichi |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinopithecus brelichi Thomas, 1903 |
|
| Gray snub-nosed monkey range | |
The gray snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi),[1] also known as the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey,[2] is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family.[1][2] It is endemic to China,[1] where it is known as the Guizhou golden hair monkey (黔金丝猴) or gray golden hair monkey (灰金丝猴). It is threatened by habitat loss.[2] Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China, the gray snub-nosed monkey is the most threatened, with a total population of less than 750 in around 20 groups surviving in the wild.
The distribution range of the gray snub-nosed monkey is solely limited to the Fanjing (梵净) Mountains Natural Reserve totaling around 400 km2 (150 sq mi) in Wuling (武陵) Mountains in Guizhou province. The elevation of the distribution range of the gray snub-nosed monkey is between 500 – 800 m in winters and 1,400 - 2,200 in summers. In winters, the 20 or so groups gather to form three large groups and split back into the original smaller groups in summers. The adult males average 637 mm to 690 mm in size, excluding the tail, which averages 846 to 905 mm. Females are smaller than males.
Though legally protected, the gray snub-nosed monkey is threatened seriously due to habitat loss. The Fanjing Mountains Natural Reserve in Wuling Mountains in Guizhou province that covers the entire distribution range of the gray snub-nosed monkey was not established until 1978, and due to centuries long mining activities that depleted the forest on the northern slope of the mountains, the reforestation effort that last until today is still unable to restore the forest to the level of sustaining the ideal survival enironment for the monkeys.