Macaque stump-tailed macaque within the "M. sinica" group. Prehistoric (fossil) species: 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,
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