The black snub-nosed monkey also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is an endangered species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to China, where it is known to the locals as the Yunnan golden hair monkey and the black golden hair monkey. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was named after Bishop Félix Biet who collected it.
The black snub-nosed monkey is a large, stocky and well-furred primate belonging to the leaf-monkey Colobinae subfamily. Despite its morphological distinctiveness and noteworthy biology this is one of the lesser known primate species. In recent years, however, knowledge about the behavior and ecology of the black snub-nosed monkey has grown. Lack of information is mainly a result of difficult research conditions due to the monkey’s semi-nomadic lifestyle, elusive nature and inhospitable habitat with extremely steep hillsides, impenetrable bamboo thickets, freezing winter climate with snow as well as damp and foggy summers with minimum visibility.
This type of monkeys is known for their beautiful lips that a top model may get jealous of. This species has a highly restricted distribution in the biodiversity hotspot of the Yunling Mountains which border the Himalaya range. The actual distribution range is limited to the Yun Ridge portion of the Hengduan Mountains. Only 17 groups with a total population of less than 1,700 animals have survived in northwest Yunnan and neighboring regions in the Autonomous Prefecture of Tibet. Group size is small, typically only 20 to 60; groups of over 100 have never been observed. The territory of each group varies from 20 to 135 square km.
