Proboscis monkey (English spelling: Tenguzaru)

This animal belongs to the family Cercopithecidae, order Primates, class Mammalia. There is only one species in this genus. It is endemic to Borneo, and prefers to live in coastal mangrove forests and swampy forests along rivers. It is an excellent swimmer, which is unusual for this subfamily. Its fur is reddish brown, and it is 70 centimeters long with an almost equal tail length. Males weigh up to 23 kilograms, while females weigh about half as much. Its most distinctive feature is its nose, which can hang down as much as 10 centimeters in males, and although short, it protrudes forward in females. When not swimming, it spends most of its time in the trees, and mainly eats leaves. It lives in a multi-male group of about 30 individuals, with a range of about 1.5 square kilometers. It has a wide variety of sounds, and it is said that you can easily find the location of the group just by listening to them.

[Kenji Kawanaka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱霊長目オナガザル科の動物。コロブス亜科に属し、1属1種。ボルネオ島特産で、海岸のマングローブ林や川沿いの湿地林に好んですみ、この亜科のサルとしては珍しく、水泳が巧みである。体毛は赤褐色で、体長70センチメートル、尾長もほぼ等しい。体重は雄で23キログラムに達し、雌は約半分。もっとも顕著な特徴は鼻で、雄では10センチメートルも垂れ下がることがあり、雌でも短いが前方に突出している。水泳のとき以外は、ほとんど樹上で過ごし、主として木の葉を食べる。群れは30頭程度の複雄群で、1.5平方キロメートルぐらいの遊動域をもつ。多様な音声をもっていて、それを聞くだけで群れの所在を容易に知ることができるという。

［川中健二］

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