Golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana)
This brightly-coloured, highly sexually dimorphic monkey lives in the treetops of cold, forested mountains. These mountains, found in central China, are more than 4900 feet (1500m) high, and many parts are covered in snow. The monkeys eat mostly lichen, but also leaves and fruits during the warmer months.
meet Cloud Hopper (He/She/They/It) the golden snub-nosed monkey! Why does it have wings and a split tail? idk it just looked cool to me. yes making them a monkey was heavily influenced by my new obsession with lego monkie kid, point and laugh all u want
Do golden snub nosed monkeys suffer from breathing issues like flat faced cats and dog breeds like pugs have due to their smushed noses? Or does the nose shape help them in some way? I know about the health issues pugs have and i was wondering if the monkeys have the same issue.They鈥檙e super cool looking monkeys and i want to know more about them!
Nope! The snub nosed monkey has exactly the nose it needs. Where pugs and Persians have nose problems, there are issues on and under the surface. These breeds were selectively bred by humans to have their smushed face and have become brachycephalic as a result. Not only are their internal nasal cavities all bent out of shape, but the nose on the outside is no better; brachycephalic animals tend to have very small nostrils that close to have a slit or crack like opening which makes breathing even harder. The deformed skull also causes other problems such as dental malformation and bulging eyes.
Snub nosed monkeys on the other hand? They are fine and dandy! their internal noses are basically the same as other species of monkeys, it's just the outside that looks different. Additionally, they have nice, open nostrils for breathing. The only difference is that where other species have protruding bone and cartilage, snub nosed monkeys remain minimalist in the nose department.
Heres a close look at the nose. While we might not know exactly why they have noses like this, it seems to work for them!