Chapter 1801: The Mandrill

Chapter 1801 Mandrill

The old man with the white beard who was squatting on the rock just now suddenly looked up at Zhao Zhongyao and Feifei. It didn't run away right away, but just stared at Zhao Zhongyao and Feifei, two strange humanoid animals. It just felt so weird to have these two humanoids.

When Zhao Zhongyao and Feifei came to this rock, they could see clearly the true appearance of this old man with white beard.

This old man with a white beard turned out to be a strange monkey. However, its cheeks are white. The body hair is black. In this way, when it sits on the rock, if you don't come to see it, it feels like an old man with a white beard sitting on the rock.

‘Dad, what kind of animal is this? It should be a monkey too! ’ Feifei looked at the little animal on the rock and said.

'Of course, this is also a monkey, we have entered a kingdom of monkeys. 'Zhao Zhongyao looked at Feifei and said.

After hearing what his father said, Feifei joked, "Dad, let's wait a while, will we see Monkey King, the grandson of Monkey King?" '

After hearing what his son said, Zhao Zhongyao smiled and said, 'Of course it's possible. Monkey King Sun Wukong is a six-eared macaque. It's actually a macaque. And macaques are not particularly magical species. Since this underground forest is a kingdom of monkeys, then we should be able to see some macaques. '

After hearing what his father said, Feifei smiled again and said, "Haha, if there is such a macaque, we can really see what Monkey King looks like." '

At this time, Zhao Zhongyao looked at Feifei and said, "Don't worry about what kind of monkey Sun Wukong is, you should see what kind of monkey this monkey in front of us is!" '

Feifei looked at this strange monkey in front of him and felt a little strange, not knowing what kind of monkey it was. So, he looked at Zhao Zhongyao and asked, Dad, what kind of monkey is this? It doesn't seem to be afraid of us at all! '

‘This is called a white-cheeked gibbon. 'Zhao Zhongyao looked at Feifei and said.

'What! White-cheeked gibbon. What are the characteristics of this monkey? I would like to learn more about this white-cheeked gibbon. Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao again and said.

‘Okay, let me tell you something about this white-cheeked gibbon! ’ After finishing speaking, Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while, and then told Feifei some knowledge about the white-cheeked gibbon.

White-cheeked gibbon. The body length is 45-62 cm and the weight is 5-7 kg. The legs are short, the palms are longer than the soles of the feet, and the knuckles are long; the body is slender, with broad shoulders and narrow hips; long canine teeth. The body hair is long and rough. The male animal is mainly black, mixed with inconspicuous silver, but there is a piece of white or yellow hair on both sides of the cheek from the corner of the mouth to the top of the ear. The body hair of the female animal is orange to milky white, and there is no black on the abdomen. hair, thus distinguishing it from the black crested gibbon.

Habitat in tropical rainforest and subtropical monsoon forest, arboreal. Active during the day. Good at swinging both arms alternately, bending fingers into hooks, lightly holding branches to throw the body, and swaying forward in the air. It is a unique species in the border areas of China, Laos and Vietnam, and mainly inhabits tropical rainforests. The total number of the species is estimated at less than 350 individuals, making it a highly endangered species.

In addition, its canines, molars and other bones are also different from those of the black gibbon. The canines are longer and sharp-knife-shaped. The top has 5 points. There is a trapezoidal russet patch on the top of the head, and the male beast has a raised crested hair, while the female beast has no crested hair. The white-cheeked gibbon has a slimmer body and longer limbs. The male is black, except for a large white spot on each cheek, and the tufted pappus on the top is more pointed, long and obvious. The female's dark brown crown spot is polygonal. Most of the body is dirty yellow, and the dark brown of the chest and abdomen is rare.

The white-cheeked gibbon is a strictly arboreal animal, and the altitude of its habitat usually does not exceed 900 meters.

The dry season usually starts at 06:30 in the morning with morning calls. The foraging peak is at 07:00-08:00; the second peak is at 11:00-12:00; the third peak is at 14:00-15:00. Foraging, exercising, playing, and resting are all group activities. The distance between individuals does not exceed 70 meters when foraging.

Usually one hand hangs on the branch, and the other hand picks food, and the two hands are alternated. It mostly forages in the middle and upper part of the tall tree crown, with a height of about 10-25 meters. It starts to sing every morning, and does not sing when looking for food. It mainly eats a variety of tropical wild fruits (berries, drupes, nuts, especially banyan fruit), young leaves, flower buds, tree buds, etc., and also eats insects, small birds and bird eggs. There are about 85 kinds of food, among which plant food accounts for 90.6% of the total food. Live in small groups, generally 3-5 per group, a few can reach 7-8.

After Zhao Zhongyao told Feifei about the white-cheeked gibbon, he had some understanding of this monkey.

At this moment, Feifei looked at Dad again and said, 'Dad, so this monkey is a white-cheeked gibbon. '

‘That’s right, this is a white-cheeked gibbon. It's just that this is a white-cheeked gibbon on Mars, not on Earth. Zhao Zhongyao said again.

After hearing what his father said, Feifei said again, 'Then what's the difference between these two gibbons. ’ Feifei said again.

‘The difference is that the gibbons on Mars are larger than those on Earth. ' Zhao Zhongyao said.

'Then will it attack us? ’ Feifei said again.

‘Probably not, this is also a kind of monkey with a milder temperament. Zhao Zhongyao said so.

'Then let's move on

let's go! ’ Feifei said again.

'Okay, let's move on! Zhao Zhongyao said again.

So Zhao Zhongyao and Feifei walked forward again. Soon, they reached a relatively open area. The trees in this place are not very tall. But there are some huge rocks between the trees.

After arriving at this place, they felt that this place was a bit special, different from other places in the forest.

At this moment, Feifei suddenly saw a humanoid animal squatting on a rock with colorful hair on its face, which made people feel like seeing a ghost.

Feifei was taken aback when he saw it. He looked at that thing and said to Zhao Zhongyao beside him, 'Dad, look what it is, is it a ghost? '

After hearing Feifei's words, Zhao Zhongyao also stared at the animal. He knew immediately what animal it was. So, he looked at Feifei and said with a smile, ‘That’s not a ghost, it’s a ghost-faced baboon. '

'What, ghost-faced baboon. ’ Feifei looked at the animal in surprise and said when he heard what his father said.

‘That’s right, this should be a ghost-faced baboon. So, it looks a little scary. Zhao Zhongyao said so.

'Then what is a ghost-faced baboon. ’ Feifei wanted to learn more about this ghost-faced baboon.

At this time, Zhao Zhongyao said, This is a kind of baboon in the baboon family. Because of its strange appearance, it is also called ghost-faced baboon. '

'Dad, does that man know this kind of baboons! Can you tell me something about this baboon. ’ Feifei said again.

‘I know more or less, let me tell you about this ghost-faced baboon now! 'Zhao Zhongyao looked at Feifei and said.

Next, Zhao Zhongyao talked about some knowledge about this ghost-faced baboon.

The ghost-faced baboon is actually a mandrill.

The mandrill is the largest monkey primate in the world. The head is large and long, with a bony protrusion on both sides of the nasal bone, on which there are longitudinally arranged ridge-like protrusions with grooves in between, covered with green skin, and bright red between the ridges. There are about 6 main grooves on each side of the male, and the red part extends to the nasal bone and around the snout. This special brightly colored pattern looks like a ghost, so it is called a mandrill.

Mandrills are social animals that live in small groups and play in jungles and rocks. The main natural enemy is leopards, but leopards generally only hunt female mandrills and juvenile mandrills.

The mandrill has a stout body, with a body length of 61-76.4 cm, a short and thick tail, and a length of 5.2-7.6 cm. The average weight of females is 11.5 kg, and the average weight of males is 25 kg.

The mandrill has a ghostly face with a long face and a bright red nose bridge, which makes this bright color stand out more than the surrounding dark colors. There are deep vertical lines on both sides of the nose, a goatee under the jaw, the head is covered by long hair, the hair on the body is brown, fluffy and dense; the belly is light yellowish brown, the hair is long and dense; the back is red , the same goes for the genitals.

The buttocks are purple in color due to the abundance of blood vessels, and the color becomes more pronounced when they are emotionally excited. This feature is partly because female mandrills like it, and partly because it makes them easier to see when they are moving forward in dense forests. The location of other members. The facial color of female and juvenile mandrills is much darker than that of males.

Bright colors help mandrills identify and communicate with each other in the dense jungle. The forelimbs are longer and stronger than the hind limbs, so the rear slopes downward when moving.

Blue is very common in birds, because birds can appear blue by means of blue pigments, such as blue peacocks and blue parrots. Mammals lack this similar blue pigment, and mammals have almost no blue, so how do mammals such as mandrills have a blue appearance?

An evolutionary biologist from Yale University in the United States and a mathematician from the University of Kansas used electron microscopes to observe the blue skin tissues of animals, including the cheeks of mandrills and certain body parts of vervet monkeys, and found that The collagen fibers of the skin are regularly arranged in parallel, and collagen, which is the main extracellular adhesion protein of the skin, can maintain the integrity and elasticity of the skin, etc., and at the same time affect the tone of the skin

. Scientists have discovered the optical properties of these fibers with the same thickness, equal distance, and parallel arrangement through calculation. They reflect blue light of a single wavelength, and other reflections cancel each other out, so the skin looks blue. If the distance between the fibers increases, the blue color becomes lighter. Therefore, the blue color of animal skin comes from the reflection effect formed by the regular arrangement of protein fibers, rather than the random scattering.

The male mandrill, a species endemic to the rainforests of equatorial Africa, has bright red and blue faces that match perfectly with the striking colors of its hind legs and rump. The brighter the color of the male mandrill's face, tail and vulva, the higher its status. A 2005 study showed that the bright colors of these parts can sometimes help them avoid conflict. In addition, female mandrills also prefer males with more colorful fur.

Mandrills are social animals, with an average of more than 600 individuals in each community, and more than 800 individuals in the largest population. The largest observed population is more than 1300 mandrills. There is a strict hierarchical system, with a male mandrill as the "monkey head". "The monkeys are usually brightly colored and have huge patterns. Most adult male mandrills live alone in the forest, while others have a small family. The male leader leads several female mandrills and young mandrills to live together. Female mandrills and young mandrills basically live under trees and do not like to climb. They spend most of their time on the ground and usually only climb up trees to rest at night.

In addition to climbing trees when looking for food and avoiding danger, mandrills spend most of their time in open areas of the woods. Their running ability is very strong, and they can reach 40 kilometers per hour at the fastest time, far exceeding previous ones.

A macaque known for its agility and agility. Sometimes mandrills gather in large flocks and go to the cultivated areas to forage, causing huge losses to agriculture and being killed for it. However, due to rampant poaching and habitat loss, the survival of mandrills is facing great threats.

Adult mandrills are irritable, fierce and aggressive, and can fight medium-sized beasts. The leading old male monkey is brave and aggressive, with long and sharp teeth, sharp claws, and big arms, about three times that of ordinary adults; All predators are threatening. When they get angry, even small leopards are in awe of them, and sometimes they will attack animals such as poisonous snakes. The IQ of mandrills is also quite high, comparable to that of baboons, making them one of the smartest primates.

Zhao Zhongyao looked at Feifei, and told him about the mandrill. Feifei listened to what his father said about the mandrill, and he knew that the mandrill is a very ferocious primate.

So, Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao again and said, Dad, this animal has a fierce temperament, so shouldn't we provoke it? '

After hearing what his son said, Zhao Zhongyao also smiled and said, 'Of course, this kind of animal is no better than the little monkeys we saw before. This animal is tall and is the largest primate. Let's leave it alone. '

After hearing what Zhao Zhongyao said, Feifei said again, 'Then where should we go now. Should we just walk past this place. '

'yes! We must get past this place. Because only this place is relatively open. There are cliffs and steep slopes on both sides. If we want to walk through both sides, it will be more troublesome. 'Zhao Zhongyao looked at the surrounding terrain, then looked at Feifei and said.