Golden snub-nosed monkey
| Golden snub-nosed monkey | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Genus: | Rhinopithecus |
| Species: | R. roxellana |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinopithecus roxellana A. Milne-Edwards, 1870 | |
| Golden snub-nosed monkey range | |
The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Old World monkey in the subfamily Colobinae. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. They inhabit these mountainous forests of Southwestern China at elevations of 1,500–3,400 m (4,900–11,200 ft) above sea level. The Chinese name is Sichuan golden hair monkey (四川金丝猴). It is also widely referred to as the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China, the golden snub-nosed monkey is the most widely distributed throughout China.
Snow occurs frequently within its range, and it can withstand colder average temperatures better than any other non-human primate. Its diet varies markedly with the seasons, but it is primarily a herbivore with lichens being its main food source. It is diurnal and largely arboreal, spending some 97% of its time in the canopy. There are three subspecies. Population estimates range from 8,000 to 15,000 and it is threatened by habitat loss.