Spectacled-eyed Monkey / Dusky leaf Monkey

Today I ask my little sister to pick 1 random animal that I will write about. My sister asks me to write about the black monkey that always eating our cassava leaves. Its many names are Spectacled-eyed Monkey, Dusky Leaf Monkey, Spectacled Langur or Dusky Langur.


Spectacled-eyed Monkey

The spectacled-eyed monkey scientific name is Trachypithecus obscurus. The monkeys live in a forest near our house. Its origin is Thailand, Java, and Sumatra. it is believed that these monkeys can live for up to 25 years.

The dusky leaf monkey with its cute and adorable looks is a primate species. They have large white colored circles around their eyes which give an appearance of a spectacle, which is the basis for its second funny name, the Spectacled Langur. This animal has also white coloured patches of fur around its mouth and stomach while the rest of the fur has a grey to brownish colour. Their palms and soles are hairless. They are coloured black. The tail is non-prehensile meaning it cannot be used for them to hang from the trees.

The primate consists of short hind and forelimbs and has stronger fibula and femur compared to other species of langur. The tail is not adapted for holding and grasping and varies in length and fur coverage. The newborn dusky leaf monkeys are orange or yellow in color with a cute pink face. Within 6 months the color of the fur changes from orange to grey/brownish.

These cute looking monkeys are arboreal and spend most of their time on trees. They move around by quadrupedal motion around the forest. Leaping and climbing movements are observed during their feeding activities.

On their bottom is a hard calloused pad which is suited to them sitting down which they do for large periods of time.

From head to tail an average dusky langur would be 42-61cm (17-24in) long. The tail adds 50-85cm (20-33in) to this length. They use the tail to maintain balance. Males appear to be heavier than females but this is the only difference between the pair. Females weigh 6.5kg (14lb) on average while males weigh 7.4kg (16lb). 

Predators

As the monkeys dwell upon higher canopies of trees in the forest, they do not have many predators. But still, they can be hunted by snakes, raptors and big carnivorous animals who are able to reach them.

One of the biggest known predators of these monkeys are humans, as they are used for food.

Behavior

The dusky leaf monkey is diurnal and highly active during day time. They prefer staying up in high canopies of tall trees and move around running, climbing and leaping on the branches of the trees. The monkey is known to have interactions within their own group.

The dusky leaf monkeys move around in groups with numbers ranging from 5 to 20 individuals. The groups consist of two or more adult females and only one male. Or more adult males being only one dominant. The dominant male adult is majorly responsible for keeping the group together, patrolling at boundaries of their territories and detecting predators around their territories. Solitary individuals are found in both the sexes. Under normal circumstances, the adult male submerges within the group but becomes aggressive when intruders are observed.