Токе макак: Экология и социальная структура обезьян Шри-Ланки.

Species of Old World monkey

The toque macaque (/t//ɒ//k// //m//ə/'/k//æ//k/; Macaca sinica) is a reddish brown coloured Old World monkey endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is known as the rilewa or rilawa (Sinhala: රිළවා), (hence the English word "rillow"). Its name refers to the whorl of hair at the crown of the head, reminiscent of a brimless toque cap.

With age, the face of females turns slightly pink. This is especially prominent in the subspecies M. s. sinica.

M. s. sinica is found from the Vavuniya, Mannar to the lowlands of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, and Kurunegala; and along the arid zone of the Monaragala and Hambantota districts. M. s. aurifrons can be found sympatrically with the subspecies M. s. sinica within intermediate regions of the country in Kegalle and parts of Kurunegala. It is also found in south western parts of the island in the Galle and Matara districts near Kalu Ganga. M. s. opisthomelas has recently been identified as a separate subspecies. It can be found in the entire south western region of Ratnapura and in the Nuwara Eliya districts. It is also found around Hakgala Botanical Garden and other cold climatic montane forest patches.

Social status is highly structured in toque macaque troops and dominance hierarchies occur among both males and females. A troop may consist of eight to forty individuals. When the troop becomes too large, social tension and aggression towards each other rises, causing some individuals to leave. This is noticeable in adults and sub adults, where a troop may consist largely of females. Newly appointed alpha males show aggressiveness towards females, causing the females to leave the group. Fighting within the troop can cause serious injuries including broken arms.

When in estrous, the female's perineum becomes reddish in color and swells. This signals to males that she is ready to mate. There is an average of 18 months between births. After a 5–6 month gestation period, the female will give birth to a single offspring. The baby will hold on to its mother for about 2 months. During this time the infant learns social skills critical for survival. The infant will inherit its social standing from its mother's position in the troop. Young males are forced to abandon their troop when they are about 6–8 years of age. This prevents inbreeding and ensures that the current alpha male maintains his position in the troop. Leaving the troop is the only way a male can change his social standing. If he has good social skills and is strong he may become an alpha male. A single alpha male can father all of the troops' offspring.

One study of toque macaques recorded a diet of 14% flowers, 77% fruits, 5% mushrooms, and 4% prey items. The preferred fruit species included Ficus bengalensis, Glenniea unijuga, Schleichera oleosa, Drypetes sepiaria, Grewia polygama, Ficus amplissima, and Ficus retusa. It was found that mushrooms were much sought after during the wet season. Cheek pouches enable toque macaques to store food while eating fast. In the dry zone, they are known to eat drupes of the understory shrub Zizyphus and ripe fruits of Ficus, and Cordia species. They occasionally eat small animals ranging from small insects to mammals like the Indian palm squirrel and the Asiatic long tailed climbing mouse. Both subspecies M. s. aurifrons and M. s. sinica are kept as pets.