NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Crab-eating Macaque
Macaca fascicularis (Raffles, 1821)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Macaca fascicularis, variously known by common names such as crab-eating macaque, long-tailed macaque, or cynomolgus monkey, is a macaque species native to Southeast Asia. As a synanthropic species, the crab-eating macaque thrives near human settlements and in secondary forests. The crab-eating macaque has developed a variety of cultural perceptions, from being smart and adaptive, to being sacred, to even being pests in some cases.
The crab-eating macaque is omnivorous and frugivorous. It lives in matrilineal groups ranging from 10 to 85 individuals, with groups exhibiting female philopatry and males emigrating from natal group at puberty. The crab-eating macaque is the only old-world monkey known to use stone tools in their daily foraging, and it engages in a robbing and bartering behavior in some tourist locations.
The crab-eating macaque is the most traded primate species and also the most popular species used in scientific research. Due to these threats, the crab-eating macaque was listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2022.
Wikipedia contributors, Macaca fascicularis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:35:42.579155+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Macaca fascicularis (Raffles, 1821)
- Name authority
- (Raffles, 1821)
- Common name
- Crab-eating Macaque
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Cercopithecidae
- Genus
- Macaca
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
- suborderHaplorrhini Pocock, 1918
- infraorderSimiiformes Haeckel, 1866
- superfamilyCercopithecoidea Gray, 1821
- familyCercopithecidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyCercopithecinae Gray, 1821
- tribePapionini
- genusMacaca Lacépède, 1799
- speciesMacaca fascicularis (Raffles, 1821)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Macaca. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese MacaqueMacaca fuscata (Blyth, 1875) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern Pig-tailed MacaqueMacaca nemestrina (Linnaeus, 1766) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gorontalo MacaqueMacaca nigrescens (Temminck, 1849) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Booted MacaqueMacaca ochreata (Ogilby, 1841) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pagai Island MacaqueMacaca pagensis (Miller, 1903) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bonnet MacaqueMacaca radiata (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Siberut MacaqueMacaca siberu Fuentes & Olson, 1995 | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lion-tailed MacaqueMacaca silenus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Barbary MacaqueMacaca sylvanus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Milne-Edwards's MacaqueMacaca thibetana (A. Milne-Edwards, 1870) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Assam MacaqueMacaca assamensis (McClelland, 1840) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Celebes Crested MacaqueMacaca nigra (Desmarest, 1822) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180098 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3WWND. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.