Gray langur
From Freepedia
| Gray langurs | ||||||||||||
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| Image:SLz04greylangur.jpg Gray langurs in Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||
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| Presbytis entellus Dufresne, 1797 | ||||||||||||
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Semnopithecus schistaceus |
The gray langurs are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus. They are a large and fairly terrestrial genus inhabiting open wooded habitats and urban areas on the Indian subcontinent. Until recently they were considered one species, Semnopithecus entellus; now seven distinct species are recognized. When only one species was recognized, it was also called the Hanuman Langur, the Common Langur and the Entellus Langur. In Sri Lanka, it is natively known as the Wanderoo.
They are largely grey, with a black face. Males are up to 75 cm long, and females 65 cm. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north.
The Hindu monkey god Hanuman took the form of this monkey, hence its name. It is the sacred monkey of India.
Grey langurs feed on leaves, fruit, buds and flowers. They spend most of their time on the ground. They are diurnal and usually walk on all fours.
They live in medium to large groups, usually with one dominant male. When a new male takes over a troop, he systematically kills all the infants sired by the previous alpha male.
Species list
- Nepal Gray Langur, Semnopithecus schistaceus
- Kashmir Gray Langur, Semnopithecus ajax
- Tarai Gray Langur, Semnopithecus hector
- Northern Plains Gray Langur, Semnopithecus entellus
- Black-footed Gray Langur, Semnopithecus hypoleucos
- Southern Plains Gray Langur, Semnopithecus dussumieri
- Tufted Gray Langur, Semnopithecus priam
