Nilgiri langur

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Nilgiri langur[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Trachypithecus
Species group: T. vetulus
Species: T. johnii
Binomial name
Trachypithecus johnii
(J. Fischer, 1829)
Nilgiri langur range

The Nilgiri langur (Trachypithecus johnii) is a lutung (a type of Old World monkey) found in the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats in South India. Its range also includes Kodagu in Karnataka, Kodayar Hills in Tamil Nadu, and many other hilly areas in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This primate has glossy black fur on its body and golden brown fur on its head. It is similar in size and long-tailed like the gray langurs. Females have a white patch of fur on the inner thigh. It typically lives in troops of nine to ten monkeys.[2] The animal is often seen encroaching into agricultural lands. Its diet consists of fruits, shoots and leaves. The species is endangered due to deforestation and poaching for its fur and flesh, the latter believed to have aphrodisiac properties.[3]

In a tree

References

  1. ↑ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M, eds. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 178. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Singh, M., Kumar, A. & Molur, S. (2008). Trachypithecus johnii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Malviya, M.; Srivastav, A.; Nigam, P.; Tyagi, P. C. (2011). "Indian National Studbook of Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johnii)" (PDF). Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi. 

External links

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