Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
isolated from the rest of Southeast Asia by the Bilauktaung Mountain Range
(i.e., the Dawna Range), which runs from north to south along the national
border between Myanmar and Thailand. This hypothesis on the origin of
M. f.
aurea
needs to be tested. Consequently, a detailed understanding of their distri-
bution is necessary in order to reconstruct their evolutionary history.
Fooden (
1995
) stated that the Myanmar subspecies
M. fascicularis aurea
has
an infrazygomatic lateral facial crest pattern, a relative tail length (tail length/
crown-rump length x 100%) of > 90%, a frequent appearance of crested hair at
the crown, a pelage color of grayish brown without patterning in juveniles and
adults (cf., bi-partite pattern in rhesus and assamese macaques), a black pelage
in infants under three months of age, and whiskers and other hairs around the
face. The direction of hair at the cheek is a major subspecific key character,
demonstrating an infrazygomatic pattern (
M. f. aurea
; Fooden,
1995
) rather
than the transzygomatic pattern seen in
M. f. fascicularis
. Possible hybrids
have been found in Myanmar that appears to be either inter-specific with rhe-
sus macaques (
Macaca mulatta
) or inter-subspecific with the nominotypical
subspecies (
M. f. fascicularis
; Fooden,
1995
,
2000
).
The status and distribution of long-tailed macaques in Myanmar is still
only poorly known. There are rough reports on the distribution of the long-
tailed macaque in Myanmar (Tun Yin,
1967
; Fooden,
1995
), but these may
not capture the full extent of their distribution, nor are they necessarily valid
today. These reports show that the long-tailed macaques of Myanmar range in
lower and southern parts of Myanmar. However, their status and population
levels have not been well reported and significant environmental changes have
occurred in Myanmar since these surveys. Consequently, adequate surveys are
needed to complete our understanding of their distribution.
Long-tailed macaque populations are reported to be widespread but rap-
idly declining due to habitat alteration and the animal trade (Eudey,
2008
).
In Myanmar, there are several threats facing long-tailed macaques and other
species. Myanmar is still one of the most forested countries in mainland
Southeast Asia, but the forests are declining and have continued to decline by
0.3 percent annually since early 1990 (Leimgruber
et al
., 2005). Forest loss
has been due to logging, construction of infrastructure, and conversion to agri-
cultural and aquacultural lands. Consequently, forest habitat and quality have
been significantly reduced in Myanmar, and this is especially so in Southern
Myanmar (Molur
et al
.,
2003
). The lowland, coastal, and mangrove forests,
which are the primary natural habitats of long-tailed macaques, have been
significantly affected by forest conversion. As a result, the habitats available
to them are deteriorating and becoming more fragmented. Furthermore, hunt-
ing and the wildlife trade also threaten long-tailed macaques in Myanmar.
Therefore, a better understanding of their population is needed in order to
