Assam macaque occurrence. For the populations in India, the species is listed under Schedule II, part I of the Indian Wildlife Act. Assam macaque The Assam macaque ("Macaca assamensis") is a macaque of the Old World monkey family native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, the species has been listed as Near Threatened by IUCN, as it is experiencing significant declines due to hunting, habitat degradation and fragmentation. The Assam macaque has a yellowish-grey to dark brown pelage. The facial skin is dark brownish to purplish. The head has a dark fringe of hair on the cheeks directed backwards to the
Arunachal macaque and 3500 m above sea level, making it one of the highest-dwelling primates. It belongs to the "M. sinica" species-group of macaques, along with the Assamese macaque ("M. assamensis"), the Tibetan macaque ("M. thibetana"), the bonnet macaque ("M. radiata") and the toque macaque ("M. sinica"). The Arunachal macaque is apparently physically similar to the Assam and Tibetan macaques, while genetically closely related to the bonnet macaque of southern India. This is probably the result of convergent evolution, where organisms evolve similar physical features due to similar environmental selection pressure, while genetically they may have different origins. However, its full specific