Heck's Macaque Characteristics | Macaca Hecki Facts

Primate Profile

Heck’s Macaque

Macaca hecki · Native to Indonesia

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Primates

Family

Cercopithecidae

Genus

Macaca

Species

hecki

Authority

(Matschie, 1901)

Photo

IUCN STATUSVulnerable

Countries

Toggle legend

Indonesia (

)

Heck’s Macaque Characteristics

The Heck’s Macaque^[1] (Macaca hecki) is a macaque native to Sulawesi, Indonesia. This Old-World monkey is diurnal.

Heck’s macaques are rarely observed or photographed, so it isn’t easy to describe their appearance. However, they do look quite similar to black-crested macaques.
They both have tiny, almond-shaped brown eyes, silky black fur, and small vestigial tail tips, leading some to misidentify these Old-World Monkeys as great apes.
However, there are still some significant differences, primarily the spiny black crest on a black-crested macaque’s head, which the Heck’s macaque lacks.
Heck’s macaques have a broad, prominent forehead and narrow faces with sunken cheeks.

Heck’s macaques are probably diurnal and semi-arboreal in primary and secondary tropical forests. They move on all fours through the forest floor and the treetops.
They have a multi-male, multi-female social system with group sizes ranging from 10 to 20 individuals.
Based on the marital line, there is a hierarchical system between group members, which makes sense since female species do not leave their natal group.
The open-mouthed gaze is a posture used to express threat, performed with a fixed gaze and an open mouth with covered teeth.
Due to their frugivorous diet, Heck’s macaques will likely act as seed dispersers throughout their habitat.

Suggested Reading: Monkey Species List