Tonkean Macaque

Tonkean Macaque

Tonkean black macaque

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Infraorder
Genus
SPECIES
Macaca tonkeana
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
28 years
Weight
8.6-10.5
18.9-23.1
kglbs
kg lbs 
Length
500-675
19.7-26.6
mminch
mm inch 

The Tonkean black macaque or Tonkean macaque (Macaca tonkeana ) is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to central Sulawesi and the nearby Togian Islands in Indonesia. It is threatened by habitat loss. Widespread mining in central Sulawesi is believed to exacerbating the problems of habitat loss.

Show More

Tonkean Macaques are rather ape-like in appearance, and males are slightly larger than females. A handful of matriarchs enforces a relatively fluid and lenient pecking order. Tonkean macaques take effort in maintaining harmony in the group and practice conflict resolution to a great degree. Despite being pacifists, matrilines remain rigid and unchanging, even if they're relaxed compared to other macaque species. However, this peacefulness does not extend to outside troops, and if two tonkean macaque troops cross paths, intense conflicts can arise.

Show Less

Di

Diurnal

He

Herbivore

Fr

Frugivore

Fo

Folivore

Te

Terrestrial

Ar

Arboreal

Br

Browsing

So

Social

No

Not a migrant

T

starts with

Appearance

Tonkean macaques are strong, heavily-built primates that belong to the Old World monkeys family. They are the biggest among all the macaque species. The color of their coat is dark brown to black and they have gray areas on their cheeks and rump. These macaques have long snouts, short tails, and very strong limbs.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Subcontinents
Countries
Regions
Biogeographical realms

Tonkean macaques are native to central Sulawesi and the nearby Togian Islands in Indonesia. These animals live in tropical rainforests.

Tonkean Macaque habitat map

Climate zones

Tonkean Macaque habitat map
Tonkean Macaque
Attribution-ShareAlike License

Habits and Lifestyle

Tonkean macaques are very social creatures that occur in groups of 10-30 individuals. They are active during the day and like to spend their time climbing, playing and swinging in the trees. They also spend a lot of time on the ground. Young Tonkean macaques are usually seen play-fighting while females spend their time grooming each other. Tonkean macaques don't have dominance hierarchies and are not aggressive towards each other. They like to keep peace within the troop, and in order to do so when two adults begin a fight a third adult will intervene to stop them.

Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Tonkean macaques are herbivores (frugivores). They mainly feed on fruits but also eat leaves, flower stalks, buds, bamboo seeds, some insects and other invertebrates. They also raid on cultivated crops for fruits, vegetables, and maize.

Mating Habits

PREGNANCY DURATION
173 days
BABY CARRYING
1 infant
FEMALE NAME
female
MALE NAME
male
BABY NAME
infant

Little information is known regarding the mating system in Tonkean macaques. Females give birth to a single infant and gestation period lasts around 173 days.

Population

Population threats

Tonkean macaques are considered to be agricultural pests and are often poisoned, trapped or killed. They also suffer from hunting for food and are often collected for use as pets. Another threat to these animals is the destruction of their habitat due to cacao and oil palm plantations, and also human settlements.

Population number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Tonkean macaque total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.

Ecological niche

As frugivorous animals, Tonkean macaques serve as key seed dispersers of their range. In addition, these primates are prey species for some local predators.

References

1. Tonkean Macaque on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkean_macaque
2. Tonkean Macaque on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12563/3359793

More Fascinating Animals to Learn About