Long-tailed Monkey - Onagazaru

In a broad sense, it refers to animals belonging to the family Cercopithecidae in the order Primates of the class Mammalia, and in a narrow sense, to the subfamily Cercopithecinae. Monkeys of the same family Cercopithecidae are distributed throughout Africa except for the Sahara Desert, a small area of ​​the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia east of Pakistan, and are also called Old World monkeys.

They have the same dentition as humans, with a total of 32 teeth, and are distinguished from the Central and South American Ceboidea superfamily by the presence of an anal callus, and from the Hominoidea superfamily by the presence of a tail. The Cercopithecinae family is broadly divided into the Cercopithecinae and the Colobinae subfamily, of which the former is usually called Cercopithecinae. The Cercopithecinae subfamily is broadly divided into four groups: the Cercopithecus and mangabey genera Cercocebus , which live in the forests of Africa, the Papio baboon genus, which lives mainly in the savanna and forests, and the Macaca genus, which is distributed in Asia. All of these groups are distinguished from the Colobinae subfamily by the presence of cheek pouches. Most species are stocky and have a relatively wide diet, mainly eating plant foods, but also insects and bird eggs. Baboons in particular will catch and eat antelope young and rabbits.

Species of the genera Cercopithecus and Mangabey are arboreal and often form small mono-male groups, while the genera Baboon and Macaque tend to be terrestrial and form large poly-male groups. The first two species have evolved in seemingly contradictory directions, with the former trying to perpetuate a specific bond between males and females, while the latter two trying to accommodate as many individuals as possible in one group. However, in both species, females stay in the group they were born in, while males do. In other words, they have in common that the groups are matrilineal. Males who leave a group approach other groups and have sexual relations with the females there, or join them and spend several years there. This type of social structure is in contrast to the society of the Pongidae, where females leave the group they were born in. Many species only have a single-layered structure called a group, but the two species of Theropithecus gelada and Papio hamadryas have a higher or lower structure. In other words, they are notable for their multi-layered social structure. In the narrowest sense, the word "Cercopithecus" refers to the genus Cercopithecus, but to avoid confusion, it is better to call the genus Cercopithecus guenon.

[Kenji Kawanaka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

広義には、哺乳(ほにゅう)綱霊長目オナガザル科に属する動物をさし、狭義にはそのうちのオナガザル亜科をさす。同科Cercopithecidaeのサル類は、サハラ砂漠を除くアフリカと、アラビア半島の狭域、パキスタン以東のアジアに分布し、旧世界ザルともいう。

で合計32本というヒトと同じ歯式で、臀だこがある点で中央・南アメリカのオマキザル上科Ceboideaと区別され、尾がある点でヒト上科Hominoideaと区別される。オナガザル科は、オナガザル亜科Cercopithecinaeとコロブス亜科Colobinaeに大きく二分され、普通、前者をオナガザルとよぶ。オナガザル亜科は、アフリカの森林にすむオナガザル属Cercopithecusとマンガベイ属Cercocebus、おもにサバンナと森林にすむヒヒ属Papio、アジアに分布するマカック属Macacaの4グループに大別され、いずれも頬(ほお)袋がある点でコロブス亜科と区別される。多くの種はずんぐりとした体格で、食性は比較的幅広く、植物性食物を中心に、昆虫や鳥の卵も食べ、とくにヒヒはレイヨウの幼獣やウサギをとらえて食べることがある。

　オナガザル属とマンガベイ属の種は樹上性で、小形の単雄群をつくる例が多いが、ヒヒ属とマカック属は地上性の傾向が強く、大形の複雄群をつくる。前の二者は、特定の雌雄間の結合を永続化しようとし、後の二者は一つの集団に個体をより多く収容しようとするという、一見相反する方向に進化してきたとみることができるが、両者とも雌は自分が生まれた群れを離れず、雄が離れる。つまり群れは母系集団であるという点で共通性がある。群れを離脱した雄は、他の群れに接近してその雌と性関係をもったり、それに加入して数年間を過ごす。このような社会の形態は、雌が生まれ育った出自集団を離れるショウジョウ科Pongidaeの社会とは対照的である。多くの種は群れという単層の構造をもつにすぎないが、ゲラダヒヒTheropithecus geladaとマントヒヒPapio hamadryasの2種は、それより上位または下位の構造をもつ。つまり重層的な社会構造が認められる点で注目される。なお、もっとも狭義には、「オナガザル」の語はオナガザル属をさすが、混乱を避けるため、オナガザル属はグエノンとよぶほうがよい。

［川中健二］

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