Hanuman langur - Hanuman langur (English spelling)

It is an animal of the Cercopithecidae family of the Primates order of the Mammalia class. Its name comes from Hanuman, the divine monkey from the Indian epic poem Ramayana. It is found throughout the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayan mountain range and in Sri Lanka, and has adapted to a variety of environments. It has a slender build, and since the adult animal's body hair is gray, it is also called the gray-headed lantern monkey. Its body length is 70 cm, and its tail length 100 cm. The newborns have pink faces and black body hair. Its main diet is leaves. In areas with high population density, single-male groups of 15 to 25 individuals are common, while in areas with low population density, larger multi-male groups are common. In the former case, the group is taken over by a male that does not belong to the group once every four or five years, and the male who succeeds in taking over is known to commit infanticide by biting all the babies in the group to death.

[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。名前はインドの叙事詩『ラーマーヤナ』の神猿ハヌマンに由来する。ヒマラヤ山系以南のインド亜大陸全域とスリランカに分布し、多様な環境に適応している。ほっそりとした体格をもち、成獣の体毛は灰色なのでハイイロヤセザルともいう。体長70センチメートル、尾長100センチメートルになる。新生子の顔はピンクで体毛は黒い。食物は木の葉が主食である。個体群密度が高い地域では15～25頭の単雄群が多く、密度が低い地域ではより大型の複雄群が多くみられる。前者の場合、群れは4、5年に1回の割合で、群れに所属しない雄によって乗っ取られ、そのとき、乗っ取りに成功した雄は、群れの赤ん坊を全部かみ殺すという子殺しが知られている。

［川中健二］

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