Preliminary Results from a Field Study of Wild Guizhou Snub-Nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus brelichi)

Abstract

The Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus brelichi, is a large-bodied colobine confined to the subtropical semideciduous forests of Fanjing Mountain Reserve in Guizhou province, southwest China. Field work beginning in 1979 and including 10 months of intensive study in 1991 has revealed several aspects of the behavior and ecology of this species that are distinct from other colobines, including the closely related species R. roxellana and R. bieti. The Guizhou snub-nosed monkey is arboreal, traveling through the trees by quadrupedal walking, climbing, leaping, semibrachiation and (occasionally) by full brachiation. Terrestrial locomotion is used occasionally. Social organization centers around family groups of 5–10 individuals with a single adult male. Many family groups range and rest together in large, semicohesive bands. These bands may split up or coalesce temporarily to form large aggregations of over 400 animals and perhaps more. All-male groups of 2–5 adult or subadult males are found on the periphery of the bands.

Altitudinal Movements of Guizhou Snub-Nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus brelichi) in Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve, China: Implications for Conservation Management of a Flagship Species

“…Whereas previous studies approximated the range limits of R. brelichi at between 1,000 and 2,300 m above sea level [Bleisch et al, 1993;Bleisch and Xie, 1998;Yang et al, 2002], we showed that the monkeys consistently used areas between 1,350 and 1,870 m at Yangaoping. We believe our results captured the species' core altitudinal range, even though indirect evidence (i.e.…”

A Preliminary Report on Sichuan Snub-Nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) at Baihe Nature Reserve

“…OMUs appeared to be the primary social units at Baihe, although the presence of multi-male units remains possible and would accord with findings for R. roxellana at Shennongjia [2]. The presence of AMUs is similar to reports for other species of Rhinopithecus [4][5][6] as well as for a number of other colobines [7].…”

“…Lichen-eating is a rare behavior in primates, with published reports of substantial lichen-eating only for R. bieti [8] and some populations of Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) [9]. Feeding on buds and on nonlignified bark is relatively more common and is found, for example, in R.brelichi [5] and the Japanese macaque Macaca fuscata [10]. R. roxellana and R. brelichi both eat leaves in summer and buds in winter; R. roxellana and R. bieti both feed on lichens.…”

Altitudinal Ranging and Terrestriality in the Yunnan Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti)

“…In R. roxellana, evidence for terrestriality is seen both in limb morphology [21] and in diet [1,9,11]. Perhaps surprisingly, R. brelichi, which is more closely related to R. bieti than is R. roxellana [22], is terrestrial only rarely [23], Wu [6] and Wu et al [7] report that R. bieti is terrestrial 70-90% of the day. This contrasts with the report of Li et al [5] that the monkey is 'typically arboreal'.…”