Colobines ( Asian langurs and African colobines) are Old World leaf-eating monkeys with high-cusped molars and multi-chambered stomachs housing mutualistic microbes that digest cellulose and detoxify plant defensive compounds.
- The Old World monkeys of Africa and Asia comprise approximately 132 species in the family Cercopithecidae.
- They exhibit striking diversity in habitat, distribution, diet, and social behavior.
- Living in deserts, rainforests, snowy mountains, and even cities, Old World monkeys include two especially species-rich genera and several exceptionally widespread species.
- The Himalayan Gray Langur or the Chamba Sacred Langur ( Semnopithecus ajax) is a colobine.
- Old World monkeys differ from New World monkeys in having downward-pointing nostrils and only two pre-molars, while the presence of tails in nearly all forms differentiates them from apes.
(Source: Nature)
