Tonkin snub-nosed monkey

Tonkin snub-nosed monkey[1]
Conservation status

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Rhinopithecus
Species: R. avunculus
Binomial name
Rhinopithecus avunculus
(Dollman, 1912)
Tonkin snub-nosed langur range

The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey or Dollman's snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) is a critically endangered, slender-bodied arboreal colobine, endemic to northern Vietnam. Recorded at elevations between 200 to 1,200 m, its distribution is currently restricted to small fragmented tropical evergreen forests associated with steep karst limestone hills and mountains. Five isolated extant populations have been identified since its rediscovery in 1992.[3] Despite heralded as a flagship species and subsequently receiving international attention and conservation actions, the population trend remains on the decline; therefore causing it to be continuously listed as one of "The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates."[4][5] since the first global non-human primate biennial assessment began in 2001.

Habitat loss and hunting are some of the major causes for declines of naturally occurring populations of non-human primates, including the Tonkin Snub-nosed monkey. Decades of expanding human population and increasing demands for scarce agriculturally viable lands have led to the loss and fragmentation of the monkey's habitats. However, habitats of known Tonkin snub-nosed monkey populations were long lost and fragmented prior to their rediscovery. A pioneering study in 1993, in Na Hang Nature Reserve, obtained a population count of 72 individuals (estimated 80), and a subsequent study at the same site in 2005 obtained a population count of 17 individuals (estimated 22). Evidenced by both primary and secondary data, the population decline within that 13-year period can only be attributed to hunting activities.[3]

Sightings of the monkey have become increasingly rare. The primate was thought to be extinct until the 1990s, when a small population was discovered in Na Hang District in Tuyên Quang Province of Vietnam. Heavy poaching for food as well as the wildlife black market and the destruction of habitat are the main reasons why the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is considered one of the planet's most critically endangered primate species . By 2008, when a small population with three infants was discovered in a remote forest, fewer than 250 of the primates were thought to exist.[6] In December of 2013, Fauna & Flora international released the result of a population survey conducted between September and October of that year in the Khau Ca Species and Habitat Conservation Area, Ha Giang province, Vietnam. The survey identified between 108-113 individuals alive in the conservation zone, nearly half of the standing estimate for world population and the highest number at the site since populations began to be monitored. [7] Researchers took this as an encouraging sign that conservation efforts were making an impact on the species' steeply declining numbers.

Biology

The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is diurnal and its diet consists of a range of leaves, fruits, flowers and seeds. Detailed information on this species can be found on Arkive.org and Alltheworldsprimates.org

See also

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. 173. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
  2. ↑ Xuan Canh, L., Khac Quyet, L., Thanh Hai, D. & Boonratana, R. (2008). Rhinopithecus avunculus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ramesh, Boonratana (18–22 March 2013). "The Tonkin Snub-nosed monkey of Vietnam: a singking flagship?". ATBC Asia-Pacific Chapter, Banda Aceh.
  4. ↑ Mittermeier, R.A.; Wallis, J.; Rylands, A.B.; Ganzhorn, J.U.; Oates, J.F.; Williamson, E.A.; Palacios, E.; Heymann, E.W.; Kierulff, M.C.M.; Long Yongcheng; Supriatna, J.; Roos, C.; Walker, S.; Cortés-Ortiz, L.; Schwitzer, C., eds. (2009). "Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2008–2010" (PDF). Illustrated by S.D. Nash. Arlington, Virginia.: IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), International Primatological Society (IPS), and Conservation International (CI). pp. 1–92. ISBN 978-1-934151-34-1.
  5. ↑ snub nosed monkeys
  6. ↑ "Glimmer of hope for rare monkey" (BBC News), 7 December 2008
  7. ↑ (Phys.org), 10 December 2013