Barbary macaque

Barbary macaque
Temporal range: Early Pliocene–Recent
Young Barbary macaque with its mother
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Macaca
Species:
M. sylvanus[1]
Binomial name
Macaca sylvanus[1]
Native Range in Red (Northeast Africa); Introduced Range in Violet (Gibraltar)
Synonyms[4]

Simia sylvanus Linnaeus, 1758
Inuus ecaudatus É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812
Simia inuus Linnaeus, 1766
Simia pithecus Schreber, 1799
Pithecus pygmaeus Reichenbach, 1863

The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar.[2] It is the type species of the genus Macaca. The species is of particular interest because males play an atypical role in rearing young. Because of uncertain paternity, males are integral to raising all infants. Generally, Barbary macaques of both sexes and all ages contribute in alloparental care of young.[5]

The diet of the Barbary macaque consists primarily of plants and insects and they are found in a variety of habitats. Males live to around 25 years old while females may live up to 30 years.[6][7] Besides humans, they are the only free-living primates in Europe. Although the species is commonly referred to as the "Barbary ape", the Barbary macaque is a true monkey. Its name refers to the Barbary Coast of Northwest Africa.

The population of the Barbary macaques in Gibraltar is the only one outside Northern Africa and the only population of wild monkeys in Europe. Barbary macaques were once widely distributed in Europe, as far north as England, from the Early Pliocene (Zanclean) to the Late Pleistocene, as recently as 85-40,000 years ago.[8] About 300 macaques live on the Rock of Gibraltar. This population appears to be stable or increasing, while the North African population is declining.[2]

  1. ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). "Species Macaca sylvanus". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b c d Wallis, J.; Benrabah, M.E.; Pilot, M.; Majolo, B.; Waters, S. (2020). "Macaca sylvanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T12561A50043570. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T12561A50043570.en. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  3. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1758). "Simia sylvanus". Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. I (Decima, reformata ed.). Holmiæ: Laurentii Salvii. p. 25.
  4. ^ "Macaca sylvanus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Small1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Rathke, E. -M.; Berghänel, A.; Bissonnette, A.; Ostner, J.; Schülke, O. (2017). "Age-dependent change of coalitionary strategy in male Barbary macaques". Primate Biology. 4 (1): 1–7. doi:10.5194/pb-4-1-2017. PMC 7041515. PMID 32110686.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fooden2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference EltonO'Regan2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).