Purple-Faced Langur

Purple-Faced Langur

Purple-faced leaf monkey

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Infraorder
Subfamily
SPECIES
Semnopithecus vetulus
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
23 years
Weight
3-11
6.6-24.2
kglbs
kg lbs 
Length
44-67
17.3-26.4
cminch
cm inch 

The purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus ), also known as the purple-faced leaf monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that is endemic to Sri Lanka. The animal is a long-tailed arboreal species, identified by a mostly brown appearance, dark face (with paler lower face) and a very shy nature. The species was once highly prevalent, found in suburban Colombo and the "wet zone" villages (areas with high temperatures and high humidity throughout the year, whilst rain deluges occur during the monsoon seasons), but rapid urbanization has led to a significant decrease in the population level of the monkeys. It had traditionally been classified within the lutung genus Trachypithecus but was moved to the genus Semnopithecus based on DNA evidence indicating that is it more closely related to the gray langurs.

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In Sinhala it is known as ශ්‍රී ලංකා කලු වදුරා (Sri Lanka black monkey).

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Di

Diurnal

He

Herbivore

Fo

Folivore

Ar

Arboreal

Br

Browsing

Te

Terrestrial

So

Social

No

Not a migrant

P

starts with

Appearance

The Purple-faced langur is an endangered long-tailed arboreal monkey that can be found only in Sri Lanka. It is identified by a mostly brown appearance, dark face (with paler lower face), and very shy nature. Males of this species are usually larger than females.

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Subcontinents
Countries
Biogeographical realms

Purple-faced langurs are found in closed-canopy forests in Sri Lanka's mountains and the southwestern part of the country, known as the "wet zone". Although their range has constricted greatly in the face of human encroachment, Purple-faced langurs can still be seen in Sinharaja, Kitulgala, Kandalama, Mihintale, in the mountains at Horton Plains National Park or in the rainforest near the city of Galle.

Purple-Faced Langur habitat map

Climate zones

Purple-Faced Langur habitat map
Purple-Faced Langur
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Habits and Lifestyle

Purple-faced langurs are active during the day. They spend their lives in threes and are very territorial. Purple-faced langurs live in groups that usually consist of one adult male, up to 7 adult females, and their offspring of different ages. Some males live in bachelor groups that usually number from 2 to 14 individuals. Purple-faced langurs are very vocal and communicate with each other using various types of calls. Loud calls are often used to distinguish between individual langurs. These include harsh barks, whoops, and residuals. Calls occur more often in the morning mostly stimulated by neighboring groups and territorial battles. More calls occur during sunny periods than cloudy. The fewest calls occur in the evening. Daytime calls usually aid in the defense of home ranges. The loud barking call, particularly of the highland form, can be mistaken for the roar of a predator such as a leopard. Purple-faced langurs vocalize to alert members of predators, attract mates, defend territory and locate group members. Adult males are usually the most vocal among the entire group.

Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Purple-faced langurs are herbivores, mostly folivores. They feed on various leaves but will also eat fruits, flowers, and seeds.

Mating Habits

PREGNANCY DURATION
195-210 days
BABY CARRYING
1 infant
INDEPENDENT AGE
7-8 months
FEMALE NAME
female
MALE NAME
male
BABY NAME
infant

Female Purple-faced langurs give birth to a single infant after the gestation period of 195-210 days. The young are nursed by their mothers for 7-8 months and become reproductively mature at the age of 4 years.

Population

Population threats

Purple-faced langurs are threatened by habitat loss due to rapid urbanization, infringement on the range by croplands, grazing, changing agriculture, road production, soil loss/erosion and deforestation, poisoning from prevention of crop raiding, and hunting for medicine and food.

Population number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Purple-faced langur total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.

Coloring Pages

References

1. Purple-Faced Langur on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple-faced_langur
2. Purple-Faced Langur on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22042/17959452

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