Morphological Characteristics of the Japanese Macaque

The Japanese macaque is a medium-sized, short and stout monkey, with a body length of 47-60 centimeters; a tail length of 7-12 centimeters; and a weight of 8 kg-11 kg. The tail is relatively short, less than a quarter of the head's body length. The face is thin, with no swirling hairs radiating in all directions on the top of the head, which is brown in color, with a slightly protruding forehead, high brow bones, deep eye sockets, and short shoulder hairs. There are red cheeks with expressive eyes. The back of the body has a thick, shaggy coat of fur, ranging from gray to brown, sometimes with a few spots. In winter the northern tribes of macaques change into a thick winter coat to preserve body heat. In summer they change to a lighter fur coat. The limbs and lower abdomen are red and glossy, with the legs having a richer gray color. Both ears are mostly flesh-colored, and the buttock callus is well developed and mostly flesh-red. Adult males are much larger than females. There are cheek pouches where food can be stored, and usually the limbs are essentially equal in length.

The face is bare and hairless, well defined, the eye sockets are formed by bone in a ring so that the eyes are forward, the distance between the eyes is narrower, vision is well developed and stereoscopic, and it is possible to determine distances more accurately and to discern colors when moving between the trees, but the sense of smell is degraded, and the skull's structure is altered; the nostrils face forwards downwards and tightly together. Teeth 32, low cusp, heterodont, divided into incisors, canines, premolars and molars, cheek teeth usually mounded and low-crowned, molars are quadrangular and have 4 lower cone-like protrusions for chewing; clavicle well-developed, limb joints flexible, upper wrist and thighs are separated from the trunk, so that the fore and hind limbs can be moved back and forth and side-to-side, the two bones of the forewrist and calf are separated and loosely connected together, do not have to be attached to the trunk, can move between woods more accurately determine the distance to recognize colors, but the sense of smell is degraded, and the structure of the skull is changed; nostrils face forward and tightly. The two bones of the forewrist and lower leg are separated and loosely connected together, and it is not necessary to connect the trunk to turn the front and back feet, which is suitable for holding branches; usually only a pair of nipples in front of the chest; it has an appendix; it has five fingers (toes) on each of the four toes, which have flat nails, and it can flexibly and stably grasp branches, and the end of the fingers (toes) only cover the flat nails on the back of the head of the fingers (toes), and the protruding part of the fingers (toes) has a well-developed finger (toes) pattern, which has a keen sense of touch, and it also has the function of preventing slippage; the palmar and metatarsal surfaces are bare, and it has a well-developed Metacarpal and metatarsal surfaces bare, with developed two rows of skin pads, the thumb (toe) of the hand and foot and the rest of the four fingers (toes) relative to each other, can be gripped.