LANGUR

any of several oriental monkeys belonging to the family Cercopithecidae and including the genera Presbytis, Pygathrix, Rhinopithecus, and Simias. Like the related guerezas of Africa, langurs have large, complex stomachs adapted to a diet of leaves, fruit, and other vegetation. The langurs, or leaf monkeys, of the genus Presbytis (sometimes placed in Pygathrix) comprise about 14 species including the sacred monkey, or Hanuman langur (P. entellus), of India. Members of this genus are gregarious, diurnal, basically arboreal monkeys with long tails, slender bodies, and long, slender limbs, hands, and feet. Depending on species, the head and body are about 40 to 80 cm (16 to 31 inches) long and the tail is about 50 to 110 cm long. These monkeys have long fur, and many species have characteristic caps or crests of long hair. Adults usually have black faces; colour varies among the species but is commonly gray, brown, or black. The colour of the young, born singly after about 168 days gestation, differs from that of adults and possibly serves to arouse maternal protectiveness. The Hanuman langur, typical of this genus, is almost black when newborn and gray, tan, or brown when adult. Regarded as sacred in India, it roams at will in villages and temples, raiding crops or the stores of merchants. The Hanuman langur lives in bands of about 20 to 30. Males have clearly marked dominance positions, but females have no fixed status. Mothers are protective but allow other females to help care for the young. The douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus) is a large, forest-dwelling monkey of Southeast Asia. It has short, gray fur marked with red and white. Snub-nosed langurs (Pygathrix roxellanae and P. avunculus) live in the forests of China and northern Vietnam and are stocky with upturned noses and long fur of gray, black, or brownish overlaid with yellow. The pig-tailed langur (Nasalis concolor) is a snub-nosed, brownish, macaquelike monkey of wet Indonesian forests. Apart from Presbytis entellus, all species mentioned are classified as either endangered or rare.