Northern Pig-tailed Macaque
Macaca leonina (Blyth, 1863)
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.

Northern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina) mother with baby, Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The northern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonina) is a vulnerable species of macaque in the subfamily Cercopithecidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Traditionally, M. leonina was considered a subspecies of the southern pig-tailed macaque (M. nemestrina), but is now classified as an individual species. In the 21st century, the pig-tailed macaque was split into the northern pig-tailed macaque species Macaca leonina and the Sundaland pig-tailed macaque species M. nemestrina. This reclassification was aided by the observation of sexual swellings and basic attributes that distinguish the two. The northern pig-tailed macaque is frugivorous and their social grouping is matriarchal, where sexual dimorphic traits can distinguish males and females. Their adaptation to omnivorous diets occur in periods of fruit scarcity, munching on wild vegetation and crops, human foods, and small insects and mammals. Despite their adaptability, northern-pig tailed macaques experience viral threats such as the human immunodeficiency virus type 1, pathogenic simian immunodeficiency, and coronavirus.
Wikipedia contributors, Northern pig-tailed macaque; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:45:57.899069+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Macaca leonina (Blyth, 1863)
- Name authority
- (Blyth, 1863)
- Common name
- Northern Pig-tailed 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 leonina (Blyth, 1863)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Crab-eating MacaqueMacaca fascicularis (Raffles, 1821) | CercopithecidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Macacus andamanensis Bartlett, 1869 Bartlett, 1869 | synonym |
| Macaca nemestrina indochinensis Kloss, 1919 Kloss, 1919 | synonym |
| Macaca adusta Miller, 1906 Miller, 1906 | synonym |
| Macaca insulana Miller, 1906 Miller, 1906 | synonym |
| Macacus coininus (Kloss, 1903) (Kloss, 1903) | synonym |
| Macaca nemestrina blythii Pocock, 1931 Pocock, 1931 | synonym |
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=944196 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.
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:3WWNK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.