View the Current Issue

Table of Contents

cover image

Volume 24, Number 6
23 March 2005

pp 1095-1301

Male Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) � The proboscis monkey is a relatively large monkey species with a pot belly and a big nose. In Borneo, it is known as 'orang belanda', which is Malay for 'Dutchman'. This endangered species is confined to the mangrove swamps in Borneo and is under threat of losing its habitat as more land is cleared for commercial tree species. The pot belly is a 'fermentation tank' as the species eats fibrous fruits and leaves. The fleshy nose is more prominent in males and seems to be a secondary sexual characteristic. Proboscis monkeys are difficult to raise in zoos in temperate countries and are therefore seldom seen outside tropical regions. This male was photographed in April 2004 in the Labuk Bay Sanctuary in Sabah, Malaysia, a private initiative that has preserved a fragment of coastal mangroves. The image was captured with a Canon EOS1 DII, 500 mm f4 lens, iso 400, 1/200, f11. The photographer, Graeme Guy, runs a Signal Transduction Laboratory at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, which is situated at Biopolis, a new biomedical hub funded by A-Star, a Singapore Government sponsored agency.

View larger image