Morphometric Assessment of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) from Bangladesh

Abstract: The natural distribution of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) extends from South to East Asia, with substantial morphological variation among populations from different geographic locations. In the following report we compare morphometric measurements from rhesus macaques from Bangladesh to measurements from free-ranging rhesus in Nepal and captive rhesus populations originating in China and India. Our data indicate that Bangladeshi rhesus are morphologically similar to populations in South Asia, particularly India, and distinct from rhesus macaques originating in China. Our results also indicate that relative to the South Asian population samples, the rhesus macaques originating from China are distinct morphometrically.