Gray langur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gray langur[1] or Hanuman Langur[2] | |
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| Gray Langur family at Mudumalai National Park | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Subfamily: | Colobinae |
| Genus: | Semnopithecus Desmarest, 1822 |
| Type species | |
| Simia entellus Dufresne, 1797 |
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| Species | |
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Semnopithecus schistaceus |
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Gray langurs or Hanuman langurs, the most widespread langur of South Asia, are a group of Old World monkeys constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.
Gray langurs are large and fairly terrestrial, inhabiting open wooded habitats and urban areas on the Indian subcontinent.
The name Hanuman langur is widely used in India and refers to the group which was until recently considered a single species, Semnopithecus entellus. Now seven distinct species are recognized [1][3], though this is the matter of some debate[2]. As a single species, it was called the Hanuman Langur, (named after the Hindu vanara divinity Hanuman). While the species re-classification is well accepted, the common name of "Gray Langur" is not used widely Indian naturalist circles[2][4]. The animal is called hanuman langur in Hindi and Marathi, and just Hanuman in Bengali/Assamese. Another variant, Wandra, Wandur, and Wandura, appears in Gujarati, Kashmiri, and Sinhala respectively.
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[edit] Description
Hanuman langurs are largely gray, with a black face, which is thought to relate to Hanuman, a monkey warrior from the Ramayana who burnt his hands and face trying to rescue Rama's wife. Males are up to 75 cm (2.3 ft) long, and females 65 cm (2.1 ft). Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north.
Seven subspecies of the Hanuman langur, constituting different varieties across South Asia, are recognized today:
- Nepal Gray Langur Semnopithecus schistaceus
- Kashmir Gray Langur Semnopithecus ajax]]
- Tarai Gray Langur Semnopithecus hector]]
- Northern Plains Gray Langur Semnopithecus entellus
- Black-footed Gray Langur Semnopithecus hypoleucos
- Southern Plains Gray Langur Semnopithecus dussumieri
- Tufted Gray Langur Semnopithecus priam
[edit] Diet
Gray langurs feed on leaves, fruit, buds and flowers. Their diet, however, is highly seasonable, with mature leaves being eaten only as a fall-back food during the winter months. In the summer, especially before the monsoon season, they are highly frugivorous. They also supplement their diet with insects (up to 25% in some months), tree bark and gum. Their diet is strychnine-rich, and as such, self-medicate themselves with the gum of Sterculia urens, which contains a known laxative (prescribed as 'Normacol' in British hospitals)
[edit] Behavior and reproduction
Though they sleep in trees, they spend more time on the ground than any other known colobine species. They are diurnal and usually walk on all fours.
They live in medium to large groups, usually with one dominant male. Males do not hold the dominant position for long in a group, with the average being about 18 months. Adolescent males who are expelled from the group sometimes form 'bachelor' packs. These packs, after a time, start to harass the group that expelled them, and challenge the alpha for leadership of the pack. If an attack by a bachelor pack is successful and they are able to kill the alpha, they will engage in a power struggle, where first all of the infants fathered by the previous alpha are killed.
An interesting relationship has been observed between herds of Chital deer and troops of the Northern Plains Gray Langur (S. entellus), a widespread leaf-eating subspecies. Chital apparently benefit from the langurs' good eyesight and ability to post a lookout in a treetop, helping to raise the alarm when a predator approaches. For the langurs' part, the Chital's superior sense of smell would seem to assist in early predator warning, and it is common to see langurs foraging on the ground in the presence of Chital. The Chital also benefit from fruits dropped by the langurs from trees such as Terminalia bellerica. Alarm calls of either species can be indicative of the presence of a predator such as the Bengal Tiger.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 174-175. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12100693.
- ^ a b c Vivek Menon (2003). J. C. Daniel, A.J.T. Johnsingh; Ajith Kumar; Nameer P. Ommer; Anwaruddin Choudhury;. ed. Indian Mammals,. Dorling Kindersley.from the entry on Hanuman Langur, p.37: "There are several races of Hanuman langur, differing in colour and size. Scientists are currently debating whether this langur is a single species with several sub-species, or whether these are different species."
- ^ Osterholz, Martin;Walter, Lutz and Roos, Christian (2008). "Phylogenetic position of the langur genera Semnopithecus and Trachypithecus among Asian colobines, and genus affiliations of their species groups". BMC Evolutionary Biology 8 (1): 58. doi:. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/8/58.
- ^ Salim Ali and J. C. Daniel (2002). The Book of Indian Birds, 13th ed.. Oxford University Press,. ISBN 0195665236. see remarks on re-naming of species in international congresses where local represntation is absent
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