Wildlife
Lutungs are a group of old-world monkeys that includes 17 species of lutungs, dusky langurs and leaf monkeys. These long-tailed monkeys live in groups in the tropical forests of south east Asia. A single male presides over a harem of females and when he is deposed his offspring are in grave peril. A multi-chambered stomach aids digestion of all the tough plant material these monkeys eat. The main culprit for the endangered status of many lutungs, critical in a few, is deforestation.
Scientific name: Trachypithecus
Rank: Genus
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The lutungs are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus Trachypithecus. Their range is split into two parts; one part is much of southeast Asia (northeast India, southern China, Borneo, Thailand, Java and Bali), the other part is extreme southern India and Sri Lanka. The greater part of India has lutungs. Most of the species in this genus can be referred to as lutungs, as langurs, or as leaf monkeys.
The name "lutung" comes from the Sundanese language means blackness, and is preferred by some authors because it distinguishes the genus from the "true" langurs of the Indian subcontinent.
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François' langur
Golden langur
Phayre's leaf monkey