Macaque Macaque The macaques ( or ) constitute a genus (Macaca) of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques are distributed throughout Asia, North Africa and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principally frugivorous, although their diet also includes seeds, leaves, flowers, and tree bark, and some, such as the crab-eating macaque, subsist on a diet of invertebrates and occasionally small vertebrates. Macaques are found in a variety of habitats throughout the Asian continent, and are extremely adaptable. All macaque social groups are arranged around dominant, matriarchal females. They also have learned to live with humans,
Crab-eating macaque durians such as "Durio graveolens" and "D. zibethinus", and are a major seed disperor for the latter species. Although the species is ecologically well-adapted and poses no threat to population stability of prey species in its native range, in areas where the crab-eating macaque is not native, it can pose a substantial threat to biodiversity. Some believe the crab-eating macaque is responsible for the extinction of forest birds by threatening critical breeding areas as well as eating the eggs and chicks of endangered forest birds. The crab-eating macaque can become a synanthrope, living off human resources. They are known to