Latest Macaque Stories
Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Here’s a story which certainly won’t make anyone in middle management feel better about their jobs. According to a new study about the behavior of monkeys, those who find themselves in the middle of the pecking order, like middle managers, face more stress during their day. Researchers from Liverpool’s Institute of Integrative Biology, Chester Zoo and The University of Manchester conducted the study which has been published...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Previous research that has shown how humans synchronize their body movements without any conscious effort has been carried over to studies into primate behavior. Much in the same manner that humans will fine-tune their gait to be in sync with those walking around them, or will slow or speed up their claps to be in unison with an applauding audience, researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have found that pairs...
Since at least the 1970s, the population of critically endangered Sulawesi black macaques living in an Indonesian nature reserve has been dropping. But a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and in Indonesia shows that the population has stabilized over the past decade. The findings, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Primatology, are from the longest ongoing survey of Macaca nigra and are among the first evidence that the monkeys may be in better...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Ever tried to have sex in a house full of people, especially people you feel in competition with? It's not that easy, and the feeling of being watched is off-putting for most of us. It would be worse if those people could actually see you, and harass you during the act, right? Apparently, monkeys feel the same way. A new study by Anne Overduin-de Vries and her team from the Biomedical Primate Research Center reveals that monkeys shy...
New research published in BMC Genetics shows that the rhesus macaque has three times as much genetic variation than humans. However despite much of this extra variation being within genes, it does not affect protein function. Consequently damaging variations are at similar levels in macaques and humans - indicating a strong selection pressure to maintain gene function regardless of mutation rate or population size. Humans and rhesus macaques shared a common ancestor approximately 25...
Princeton researcher explains link from friendly primate facial gesture to human speech The throat and facial movements that twist the air pushing through your vocal cords into words could be rooted in the well-meaning expressions primates exchange with each other, according to two recent studies based at Princeton University. The researchers found that the oral-facial component of human speech mirrors the rhythm, development and internal dynamics of lip smacking, a friendly...
CT scans of fossilized primate skulls or skull fragments from both the Old and New Worlds may shed light on how these extinct animals moved, especially for those species without any known remains, according to an international team of researchers. The researchers looked at the bony labyrinth in fossil remains and compared them to CT scans previously obtained from living primate species. The bony labyrinth of the inner ear is made up of the cochlea -- the major organ of hearing -- the...
Changes in a female monkey's social status lead to changes in her immune system, and researchers writing in this week's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Early Edition suggest that the findings may be applicable to humans as well. The research, which was led by Jenny Tung, currently a visiting assistant professor in Duke University's evolutionary anthropology department and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago at the time of the study,...
The bonds of friendship are stronger than the bonds of blood for crested macaque monkeys, according to a new study published online in the journal Animal Behaviour. The research, which was conducted by Jerome Micheletta and Dr. Bridget Waller of the University of Portsmouth's Department of Psychology, looked at gaze following -- the act of looking where a companion is looking -- among the primates. According to BBC News Science Reporter Victoria Gill, gaze following is highly valued in...
Oxytocin, the "love hormone" that builds mother-baby bonds and may help us feel more connected toward one another, can also make surly monkeys treat each other a little more kindly. Administering the hormone nasally through a kid-sized nebulizer, like a gas mask, a Duke University research team has shown that it can make rhesus macaques pay more attention to each other and make choices that give another monkey a squirt of fruit juice, even when they don't get one themselves. Two...
Latest Macaque Reference Libraries
The bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) is a macaque living in India. This Old World monkey is a daily animal. It is 13.78 to 23.62 inches (35-60 cm) long plus a tail of 13.78 to 26.77 inches (35-68 cm). Males weigh 12.13 to 19.84 lbs (5.5 to 9 kg), females 7.72 to 9.92 lbs (3.5 to 4.5 kg). It can live more than 30 years. The Bonnet Macaque feeds on fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, inverbrates and cereals.
The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to northern Japan. It has an introduced free-ranging population that has been living near Laredo, Texas since 1972. It is the most northern-living non-human primate. Individuals have brown-gray fur on hands and bottom. It has a red face and a short tail. There are two subspecies of this macaque. Range and diet The Japanese Macaque is daily and spends most of its time...
The rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), often called the rhesus monkey, is one of the best-known species of Old World monkeys. It is a typical macaque, common throughout Afghanistan to northern India and southern China. Adult male rhesus macaques measure approximately 20.87 in (53 cm) on average and weigh an average of 16.98 lb (7.7 kg). Females are smaller, averaging 18.5 in (47 cm) long and 11.68 lb (5.3 kg) in weight. They are brown or grey in color and have pink faces that are typically...
The stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides), also called the bear macaque, is a macaque. It lives in China, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand. It is 18.9 to 25.6 inches (48 to 65 cm) long. Males weigh 22.05 lb (10 kg), females 16.53 to 19.84 lb (7.5 to 9 kg). It can live up to 30 years.
The crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is a primarily arboreal macaque native to Southeast Asia. It is also called the cynomolgus monkey and the long-tailed macaque. It has been used extensively in medical experiments, in particular those connected with neuroscience. It has also been identified as a possible vector for monkey pox and is a known carrier of B-virus. It is one of the types of monkeys that have been flown into space. The crab-eating macaque is found in a wide...
