Japanese macaque 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. They get their name "snow monkey" because they live in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year – no other nonhuman primate is more northern-living, nor lives in a colder climate. Individuals have brown-grey fur, red faces, and short tails. Two subspecies are known. In Japan, the species is known as Nihonzaru (ニホンザル, a combination of "Nihon" 日本 "Japan" + "saru" 猿 "monkey") to distinguish it from other primates, but the
Rhesus macaque The X chromosome has three times more rearrangements than other chromosomes. The macaque gained 1,358 genes by duplication. Triangulation of human, chimpanzee, and macaque sequences showed expansion of gene families in each species. The "PKFP" gene, important in sugar (fructose) metabolism, is expanded in macaques, possibly because of their high-fruit diet. So are genes for the olfactory receptor, cytochrome P450 (which degrades toxins), and CCL3L1-CCL4 (associated in humans with HIV susceptibility). Immune genes are expanded in macaques, relative to all four great ape species. The macaque genome has 33 major histocompatibility genes, three times those of human. This has clinical