Black Leaf Monkey

About the Black Leaf Monkey

The Nilgiri langur (Semnopithecus johnii) is an Asian langur of the Old World monkey. It has glossy, black fur and an orangey-golden brown, hair-like mane on its head. Females have a white patch of fur on the inner thigh. It typically lives in troops of nine to ten individuals, with or without offspring, depending on seasonality. Its diet consists of fruits, shoots and leaves. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by habitat destruction and poaching for its body parts, thought to supposedly contain aphrodisiac properties.

The classification of the Nilgiri langur has been disputed. Traditionally it has been placed within the genus Trachypithecus based on morphological similarities such as cranial morphology and neonatal pelage color, and within the Trachypithecus vetulus group within Trachypithecus based on a presumed close relationship with the purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus), which had formerly been classified as T. vetulus. DNA and other evidence suggests that the Nilgiri and purple-faced langurs are more closely related to the gray langurs, and have thus been reclassified within the genus Semnopithecus.... Wikipedia →