News: The Phayre’s leaf monkey is in the news due to genetic reclassification which reduced its estimated population and increased conservation concern.
About Phayre’s Leaf Monkey
- Phayre’s leaf monkey is a diurnal and arboreal Old World monkey found mainly in forested regions of Northeast India.
- Scientific name: Its scientific name is Trachypithecus phayrei.
- Naming: The species is named after Arthur Purves Phayre, a 19th century British officer and naturalist.
- Local name: It is known as chasma bandor in Bengali and chasma-chakuwa bandar in Assamese.
- Habitat and distribution
- Phayre’s langur inhabits tropical, deciduous, and evergreen forests of North-East India (mainly found in Tripura, Assam and Mizoram), eastern Bangladesh, and western Myanmar.
- It also occupies secondary forests such as bamboo clusters and rubber plantations, and rests under large-canopy tree species found in Bangladesh.
- Reclassification
- Recent genetic studies showed that Indian and Myanmar populations are separate species.
- The Indian population is now called Phayre’s langur, while the Myanmar population is named Popa langur (Trachypithecus popa).
- Physical Characteristics
- The monkey has a dark face with white rings around the eyes and lips, giving a spectacled look.
- It has a thick bluish-grey coat, a long slender tail, and adults weigh between 6 and 8 kg.
- Both sexes have a small sagittal crest, while infants are born with a golden-yellow coat.
- Diet
- Phayre’s leaf monkey is a strict folivore that feeds mainly on young leaves, shoots, and flowers.
- It occasionally eats fruits and seeds and has a multi-chambered stomach to digest fibrous leaves.
- Behavior
- The species lives in cohesive and territorial groups led by a dominant male.
- It uses vocal calls and displays to defend its range and spends most of its time in treetops.
- Threats
- Habitat loss
- Forest fragmentation
- Hunting
- Illegal poaching and trading locally
- Conservation Status
- IUCN – Endangered
- CITES – Appendix II
