southern pig-tailed macaque

The species epithet, nemestrina, is an adjective (derived from Latin {{Lang|la|Nemestrinus}}, meaning "the god of groves") modified to agree in gender with the feminine generic name.{{cite journal |last=Fooden |first=J. |year=1975 |title=Taxonomy and evolution of liontail and pigtail macaques (Primates : Cercopithecidae) |journal=Fieldiana Zoology |volume=67 |pages=169 |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.3016 |url=https://www.archive.org/download/taxonomyevolutio67food/taxonomyevolutio67food.pdf|doi-access=free }} M. nemestrina formerly included the northern pig-tailed, Pagai Island, and Siberut macaques as subspecies. All four are now considered separate species.

In the 19th century, bruh was the native name used by Malays in Sumatra for the macaque.{{Cite journal |last=Raffles |first=Thomas Stamford|title=XVII. Descriptive Catalogue of a Zoological Collection, made on account of the Honourable East India Company, in the Island of Sumatra and its Vicinity, under the Direction of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Fort Marlborough; with additional Notices illustrative of the Natural History of those Countries. |journal = The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London |year =1821 |volume =13 |pages =239–274 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1821.tb00064.x|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/28938 }}{{Cite book |last=Ogilby |first=William |title=The Menageries. The Natural History of Monkeys, Opossums, and Lemurs. |publisher=Nattali & Bond |year=1850 |page=376 }}{{Cite book |last=Blyth |first=Edward |title=Catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum Asiatic Society |publisher=Savielle & Cranenburgh |year=1863 |page=7 }}

As with other Macaca species, males are larger than females; while males are measured at {{cvt|50|-|58|cm|in}} in length and {{cvt|5|-|12|kg|lb}} in weight, females are measured at {{cvt|38|-|48|cm|in}} in length and {{cvt|4.5|-|6|kg|lb}} in weight.{{Cite news|title=Southern Pig-Tailed Macaque|url=https://www.neprimateconservancy.org/southern-pig-tailed-macaque.html|publisher=New England Primate Conservancy|access-date=26 July 2021|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023165727/https://www.neprimateconservancy.org/southern-pig-tailed-macaque.html|url-status=dead}} This macaque has buff-brown fur, with a darker dorsal area and lighter ventral area. Its common name refers to the short tail held semi-erect, resembling the tail of a pig.

File:Cercopithecidae - Macaca nemastrina.jpg, Sabah, Malaysia]]M. nemestrina is mainly terrestrial, but also a skilled climber. Unlike almost all primates, these macaques love water. They live in large groups that split into smaller groups during daytime when they are foraging. They are omnivorous, feeding mainly on fruits, seeds, berries, cereals, fungi, and invertebrates. A study in peninsular Malaysia found them to be the primary, and perhaps the only, seed dispersers of the rattan species Calamus calicarpus (syn. Daemonorops calicarpa) and Calamus castaneus.{{cite journal |title=A Key Role of the Southern Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca nemestrina (Linnaeus) in Seed Dispersal of Non-climbing Rattans in Peninsular Malaysia |last= Rupert |first=Nadine |display-authors=etal |url= http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1200343/26546227/1442570752183/2015Sep18_Article_4_Nadine.pdf?token=aa2mNZ95tN0Onl4xJU3Fv2V2Zn4%3D |journal=Asian Primates Journal |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=42–51 |year=2014 |access-date=2018-09-16}}

There is a hierarchy among males, based on strength, and among females, based on heredity. Thus, the daughter of the alpha female will immediately be placed above all other females in the group. The alpha female leads the group, while the male role is more to manage conflict within the group and to defend it.

Female gestation lasts around 5.7 months.{{cite web| last= Cawthon Lang | first= KA | date= September 2010| work= Primate Factsheets| title= Pigtail macaque (Macaca nemestrina) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology |url= http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/pigtail_macaque| via= primate.wisconsin.edu| publisher= University of Wisconsin}} She will give birth to one infant every two years. Weaning occurs at 4–5 months. Sexual maturity is reached at 3–5 years.

In Thailand, they have been trained for 400 years to harvest coconuts.{{cite web |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/19/448960760/monkeys-pick-coconuts-in-thailand-are-they-abused-or-working-animals |title=What's Funny About the Business of Monkeys Picking Coconuts? |publisher=NPR |date=October 19, 2015}}

This macaque is mostly found in rainforest up to {{convert|2000|m}}, but will also enter plantations and gardens.{{cite book |last1=Payne |first1=J. |last2=Francis |first2= C.M. |title=A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo |year=1998 |location=Kota Kinabalu, Sabah |publisher=The Sabah Society |isbn=967-99947-1-6}}

It is found in the southern half of the Malay Peninsula (only just extending into southernmost Thailand), Borneo, Sumatra and Bangka Island. There are reports of the species having been present in Singapore before 1950, but these were likely escaped pets.{{cite book|title=The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore Supplement No. 3|url=http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/docs/fb6050e4ee025362a43a216afd6af802.pdf|access-date=2015-08-14|chapter=Mammals of Bukit Timah|page=98|author1=Corlett, R.T. |author2=Lucas, P.W. |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Singapore Botanic Gardens: National Parks Board|issn=0374-7859}} The only pig-tailed macaques in Singapore today are introduced monkeys.

{{SeeAlso | Somporn Saekhow}}{{Expand section|date=November 2023}}

Since the 19th century, monkeys including the southern pig-tailed macaque, have been used by humans to harvest coconuts in southeast Asia.{{cite web

|url=https://www.naturalhistorymag.com/picks-from-the-past/12455/monkeys-trained-as-harvesters

|title=Monkeys Trained as Harvesters

}}{{cite web

|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monkey-labor-continues-in-thailands-coconut-market

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219191650/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monkey-labor-continues-in-thailands-coconut-market

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=February 19, 2021

|title=Monkeys still forced to pick coconuts in Thailand despite controversy

|website=National Geographic Society

}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal |last1=Maestripieri |first1=D |year=1999 |title=Changes in Social Behavior and Their Hormonal Correlates during Pregnancy in Pig-tailed Macaques |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=20 |issue=5 |pages=707-718 |url=https://primate.uchicago.edu/1999IJP.pdf |doi=10.1023/A:1020752702529}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Rodman |first1=PS |year=1991 |title=Structural differentiation of microhabitats of sympatric Macaca fascicularis and M. nemestrina in East Kalimantan, Indonesia |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=357-375 |doi=10.1007/BF02547617}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Oi |first1=T |year=1990 |title=Patterns of dominance and affiliation in wild pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina nemestrina) in West Sumatra |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=339-356 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225675636 |doi=10.1007/BF02193005}}

• ARKive - [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607191759/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Macaca_nemestrina/ images and movies of the Sunda pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina)]
• [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id32261/ Biolib]

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Category:Macaca

Category:Primates of Southeast Asia

Category:Mammals described in 1766

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Fauna of the Borneo lowland rain forests

Category:Primates of Borneo