Japanese macaque: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Japanese macaque lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Macaca fuscata
Group	Monkeys
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Asia
Mass	14 kg (male)
Height	95 cm (male)
Class	Mammal
Order	Primates
Family	Cercopithecidae

Where does the Japanese macaque live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Japanese macaque in 1 country or territory across Asia. Wikidata lists it as endemic to Japan.

Japan

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a Japanese macaque?

Wikidata records the following for the Japanese macaque: mass 14 kg (male); height 95 cm (male).

Is the Japanese macaque endangered?

The Japanese macaque’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Japanese macaque?

The Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) is a mammal in the order Primates and the family Cercopithecidae, genus Macaca. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Japanese macaque

The Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, this macaque is referred to as the "snow monkey", because some live in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year. No other non-human primate lives farther north, nor in a colder climate. It has brownish grey fur, a pinkish-red face, and a short tail. Two subspecies are known.

In Japan, the species is known as Nihonzaru (ニホンザル・日本猿; Japanese pronunciation: [ɲ̟ì.hó̞ń.d͡zä́.ɾɯ̈̀] lit. 'Japanese monkey') to distinguish it from other primates, but the Japanese macaque is very familiar in Japan—as it is the only native species of monkey in Japan—so when Japanese people simply say saru (サル・猿; [sä́.ɾɯ̈̀]), they usually have the Japanese macaque in mind.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Japanese macaque (revision 1380986151), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q191781 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).