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Rhesus macaque
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<p>The rhesus macaque (<i>Macaca mulatta</i>), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of <a href="/facts/Old_World_monkey/hrhKhgt7">Old World monkey</a>. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or grey in colour, it is 47–53 cm (19–21 in) in length with a 20.7–22.9 cm (8.1–9.0 in) tail and weighs 5.3–7.7 kg (12–17 lb). It is native to <a href="/facts/South_Asia/7gTqe3hY">South</a>, <a href="/facts/Central_Asia/rB8k0CyT">Central</a>, and <a href="/facts/Southeast_Asia/VafwT517">Southeast Asia</a> and has the widest geographic range of all non-human <a href="/facts/Primate/Hl8RNE2X">primates</a>, occupying a great diversity of altitudes and habitats. </p><p>The rhesus macaque is <a href="/facts/Diurnality/GgXnXvN7">diurnal</a>, arboreal, and terrestrial. It is mostly <a href="/facts/Herbivorous/me4YFdQA">herbivorous</a>, feeding mainly on <a href="/facts/Fruit/PBpuzk60">fruit</a>, but also eating <a href="/facts/Seed/a4xGSLxJ">seeds</a>, <a href="/facts/Root/x2U60Gdm">roots</a>, <a href="/facts/Buds/USYHoQv8">buds</a>, <a href="/facts/Bark_(botany)/vdL49ec1">bark</a>, and <a href="/facts/Cereal/ao2WcFdM">cereals</a>. Rhesus macaques living in cities also eat human food and trash. They are <a href="/facts/Gregarious/aJWwK65x">gregarious</a>, with troops comprising 20–200 individuals. The social groups are <a href="/facts/Matrilineal/RFgpp4Bg">matrilineal</a>. Individuals communicate with a variety of facial expressions, vocalisations, body postures, and gestures. </p><p>As a result of the rhesus macaque's relatively easy upkeep, wide availability, and closeness to humans anatomically and physiologically, it has been used extensively in medical and biological research. It has facilitated many scientific breakthroughs including vaccines for <a href="/facts/Rabies/rPDyNHwL">rabies</a>, <a href="/facts/Smallpox/cxNeetP4">smallpox</a>, <a href="/facts/Polio/6dYyXUhE">polio</a> and <a href="/facts/Antiretroviral_medication/q6KaJl8d">antiretroviral medication</a> to treat <a href="/facts/HIV/AIDS/RqLIEMuJ">HIV/AIDS</a>. A rhesus macaque became the first <a href="/facts/Monkeys_and_apes_in_space/IM2ghED0">primate astronaut</a> in 1948. </p><p>The rhesus is listed as <a href="/facts/Least_Concern/8u7koV5r">Least Concern</a> in the <a href="/facts/IUCN_Red_List/8gemqCLu">IUCN Red List</a>. </p>