Trachypithecus geei, Khajuria, 1956

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Cercopithecidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 550-755 : 741

140.

Golden Langur

Trachypithecus geei

French: Langur doré / German: Goldlangur / Spanish: Langur dorado

Other common names: Gee's Golden Langur, Golden Leaf Monkey

Taxonomy. Trachypithecus geei Khajuria, 1956 ,

India, Assam, Goalpara district, Jamduar Forest Rest House, east bank of Sankosh River.

T. geei forms, together with 1. pileatus and T. shortridgei , the pileatus species group. The phylogenetic position of this group remains unresolved, and they might have evolved through hybridization of ancestors (3:4-7-1 million years ago) of today’s genera Trachypithecus and Semnopithecus . A subspecies, bhutanensis, was described in 2003, but the possibility remains thatit is from a population of recent hybrids, and it is not recognized here. 1. geei is marginally sympatric with T. pileatus in a small area of Bongaigaon district, Assam. Monotypic.

Distribution. NE India (Himalayan foothills of NW Assam State between the Manas and Sankosh rivers, and in the area immediately to the S, nearly to the Brahmaputra River) and Bhutan (as far N as Black Mt, ¢.27° 30’ N, E of the Sankosh River; also extends E of the Mangde River along either side of the main stream).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 64-72 cm (males) and 48.8-61 cm (females), tail 78 94 cm (males) and 71-80.5 cm (females); weight 10-12 kg (males) and 9.5-10 kg (females). Coat of the Golden Langur is normally a uniform vivid flaxen-yellow to creamy-white and pelage is notably long and lax. There are long, backward-swept cheek whiskers that extend to ears and an ill-defined whorl of dark hairs across forehead. Face is naked and black. An external scrotum is absent. Coat coloris reported to take on a reddish tinge in summer and a whitish tinge in winter.

Habitat. Evergreen, tall sal ( Shorea robusta, Dipterocarpacae) moist deciduous, riparlan, savanna, temperate, and subalpine forests, up to elevations of 3000 m in the northern part of its distribution. The Golden Languris often found in plantations. Tall (up to 45 m) moist deciduous forests have leafless canopies during the dry season. At the end of the dry season, there are flushes of new leaves and flowers.

Food and Feeding. Golden Langurs eat mainly young leaves and buds, along with mature leaves, fruits (ripe and unripe), seeds, and flowers. Young leaves of Terminalia belerica and I. crenulata (Combretaceae) , buds and flowers of Dillenia pentagyna ( Dilleniaceae ), Careya arborea (Lecythidaceae) , and Bombax ceiba ( Malvaceae ), and leaves of Bauhinia vahli ( Fabaceae ) are important foods. Golden Langurs eat soil at clay licks. They raid cardamom, tapioca, and guava crops.

Breeding. Mating season of the Golden Languris inJanuary-February. A single offspring is born in July-August, after a 6month gestation. Infants are orange-brown or gray.

Activity patterns. Golden Langurs are diurnal and arboreal. They are active after dawn and feed mostly in early morning until ¢.09:30 h and again in late afternoon at c.16:00-17:00 h. They rest in the middle of the day in the tops oftall trees and huddle in the shade under vine tangles.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Golden Langurs live mostly in unimale-multifemale groups that average 12-5 individuals, but vary in size from three to 40. Adult male-to-female sex ratios are 1:1-5-3-3. Females are philopatric, but males disperse and are either solitary or form all-male groups before taking over as the dominant male in a new group. There is no evidentterritorial behavior, ranges overlap, and intergroup relations are relatively relaxed. Golden Langurs may even intermingle and travel together. Home ranges are relatively large at 150-600 ha. Population densities of Golden Langurs vary from 8 ind/km? in Manas National Park to 46 ind/km? in Ripu and 64 ind/km?® in Chirrang.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. In India, the Golden Langur is included in Schedule I, Part I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, amended up to 2002. The Golden Langur is occasionally hunted but threatened mainly by loss of habitat. In 2006, the population was estimated at less than 1500 individuals in India and ¢.4000 in Bhutan, with less than 2500 mature individuals in all. The Golden Langur occurs in Black Mountains, Royal Manas, and Thrumshingla national parks and Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan and Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Manas National Park, and Chirrang and Ripu forest reserves in India.

Bibliography. Bennett & Davies (1994), Choudhury (2001, 2008b), Gee (1961), Ghosh & Biswas (1975), Karanth (2008, 2010), Medhi et al. (2004), Molur et al. (2003), Mukherjee (1978, 2000/2001), Mukherjee & Saha (1974), Mukherjee & Southwick (1996/1997), Srivastava (2006b), Srivastava & Mohnot (2001), Srivastava, Biswas et al. (2001), Subba & Santiapillai (1989), Wangchuk et al. (2003, 2008).

Figures

140. Golden Langur (Trachypithecus gee), 141. Capped Langur (Trachypithecus pileatus), 142. Shortridge’s Langur (Trachypithecus shortridgei), 143. East Javan Langur (Trachypithecus auratus), 144. West Javan Langur (Trachypithecus mauritius), 145. Silvered Langur (Trachypithecus cristatus), 146. Selangor Silvery Langur (Trachypithecus selangorensis), 147. Germain’s Langur (Trachypithecus germaini), 148. Annamese Langur (Trachypithecus margarita)

Distribution. NE India (Himalayan foothills of NW Assam State between the Manas and Sankosh rivers, and in the area immediately to the S, nearly to the Brahmaputra River) and Bhutan (as far N as Black Mt, ¢.27° 30’ N, E of the Sankosh River; also extends E of the Mangde River along either side of the main stream).