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The annual reproductive cycle of the Barbary Ape ( Macaca sylvana ) in Gibraltar
Author(s) -
MacRoberts Michael H.,
MacRoberts Barbara R.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330250309
Subject(s) - mating , seasonal breeder , biology , annual cycle , zoology , macaque , reproductive cycle , ecology , reproduction
Data collected in Gibraltar demonstrate that Macaca sylvana has both a sharply demarcated mating and a sharply demarcated birth season. The mating season begins in November and may last until March. Births occur between May and September, gestation being of five or six months' duration. The annual reproductive cycle of the Japanese macaque is strikingly similar to that of the Barbary Ape. Matings occur in both areas in the fall, a period of decreased daily temperature and day length. The mating season begins with an increase in rainfall in Gibraltar and with a decrease in rainfall in Japan. From the data presented it seems probable that decreasing day length is the most important ecological factor in the timing of the onset of mating in Barbary Apes and in Japanese macaques.