Crested Black Macaque

BIOEXPLORER

Primate Profile

Celebes Crested Macaque

Macaca Macaca nigra · Endemic to Indonesia

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Primates

Family

Cercopithecidae

Genus

Macaca

Species

nigra

Authority

(Desmarest, 1822)

Photo

CR

IUCN STATUSCritically Endangered

• Common NameCelebes Crested Macaque
• Taxonomy Classification Year1822
• Monkey Size44 to 60 cm (17 to 24 in)
• Skin Color(s)Jet-black
• HabitatRainforest, mountains
• DietOmnivorous
• Native CountriesIndonesia

Celebes Crested Macaque Distribution

Countries

Toggle legend

Indonesia ()

Crested Black Macaque Characteristics

The Crested Black Macaque^[1], also called the Sulawesi Crested Macaque or Celebes Crested Macaque is an Old World monkey native to the Tangkoko Game Reserve in the extreme northeast of the Indonesian island of Celebes (Sulawesi) and neighboring islets.

• The crested black macaque is the rainforest’s punk rocker. Aside from their prominent pink hindquarters, their bodies are draped in soft, jet-black fur.
• Their elongated faces are hairless. Close-set brown eyes protrude from their face, and distinctive bumps frame the nose.
• Crested black macaques are often mistaken for apes because of their vestigial tails, which can go unnoticed.
• Indicative of the species’ sexual dimorphism, i. e., marked differences in appearance between the sexes.
• Female species have larger, pinker, and more rounded rumps than the male species, who sit on cordate rumps of paler pink.

Crested Black Macaque Facts

• The crested black macaque goes by various names, but the local name for this primate is yaki.
• The spiky black crest of hair on their crown, from which they take their name, resembles a punk rocker and is reminiscent of that cultural era populated by punk rock’s iconic human primates, including The Clash and the Sex Pistols.
• Crested black macaques are primarily terrestrial as they spend more than 60% of their day on the ground.
• Highly social creatures, these macaques live in family groups of 5 to 25 individuals, sometimes with a group of 75 individuals.
• Adult males display their large canines in a menacing sneer to avoid conflict and assert dominance.

Key References

• ^[1] – “Crested black macaque – Wisconsin National Primate Research Center – UW-Madison”. Accessed August 21, 2022. Link.