White-cheeked Macaque

The white-cheeked macaque was described in 2015 from Mêdog County in southeastern Tibet. It has prominent pale or white whiskers along the cheeks and chin, producing a rounded facial outline, together with dark muzzle skin, thick neck hair, a relatively uniform dark back, a hairy underside and a short, nearly hairless tail. These combined traits distinguish it from Assamese, Tibetan, rhesus and Arunachal macaques that may occur nearby. (Li, Zhao and Fan 2015)

Camera traps and direct observations recorded the species across several elevations and forest types: tropical forest at approximately 1,395m, primary and secondary evergreen broadleaf forest around 2,000m, and mixed broadleaf-conifer forest near 2,700m. Subsequent work confirmed its presence in northeastern India as well as southeastern Tibet. Published species-specific information remains centered on identification, distribution and evolutionary relationships, so diet and reproduction are omitted here. (Li, Zhao and Fan 2015; Journal of Biogeography)