Rhesus macaque
Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann, 1780)
The rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), also called the Rhesus monkey or Nazuri monkey, is a primate in the family Cercopithecidae and the genus Macaca. It is a medium-sized mammal, with an adult body mass of 3.7 kg and a highest reported value of 9.16 kg.
Quick facts about the rhesus macaque
This diurnal, scansorial herbivore lives in forest and grassland habitats. After a gestation of 165 days, females have 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year; the species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- Weight
- 3.71 kg – 9.16 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 47 cm – 53 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 34.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 40 years
- Main food
- fruitssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 165 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.37 years – 5.49 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the rhesus macaque?
Photos of the rhesus macaque
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the rhesus macaque live?
Not recorded
What is the rhesus macaque?
The rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey in the Macaca genus. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or grey in colour, it is 47–53 cm (19–21 in) in length with a 20.7–22.9 cm (8.1–9.0 in) tail and weighs 5.3–7.7 kg (12–17 lb). It is native to South, Central, and Southeast Asia and has the widest geographic range of all non-human primates, occupying a great diversity of altitudes and habitats.
The rhesus macaque is diurnal, arboreal, and terrestrial. It is mostly herbivorous, feeding mainly on fruit, but also eating seeds, roots, buds, bark, and cereals. Rhesus macaques living in cities also eat human food and trash. They are gregarious, with troops comprising 20–200 individuals. The social groups are matrilineal. Individuals communicate with a variety of facial expressions, vocalisations, body postures, and gestures.
As a result of the rhesus macaque's relatively easy upkeep, wide availability, and closeness to humans anatomically and physiologically, it has been used extensively in medical and biological research. It has facilitated many scientific breakthroughs including vaccines for rabies, smallpox, polio, and antiretroviral medication to treat HIV/AIDS. A rhesus macaque became the first primate astronaut in 1948.
The rhesus is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List.
From the Wikipedia article “Rhesus macaque” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhesus_macaque&oldid=1384494631), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the rhesus macaque endangered?
The rhesus macaque is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the rhesus macaque classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderPrimates
- familyCercopithecidae
- genusMacaca
- SpeciesMacaca mulatta (Zimmermann, 1780)
Synonyms Cercopithecus mulatta, Inuus sancti-johannis, Inuus sanctijohannis, Macaca brachyurus, Macaca brevicaudatus, Macaca erythraea, Macaca fulvus, Macaca lasiotus, Macaca littoralis, Macaca mcmahoni, Macaca mulatta mcmahoni, Macaca nipalensis, Macaca oinops, Macaca rhesus, Macaca sancti-johannis, Macaca siamica, Macaca tcheliensis, Macaca vestita, Macaca villosa, Macacus lasiotus, Macacus rhesus villosus, Macacus tcheliensis, Macacus vestitus, Pithecus brachyurus, Pithecus brevicaudus, Pithecus littoralis, Simia erythraea, Simia fulvus, Simia rhesus
Other names and names in other languages (42)
- Nazuri monkeyEnglish
- Rhesus monkeyEnglish
- Rhesus monkeyEnglish
- رِيصArabic
- قرد الرايزيسيArabic
- مكاك ريسوسيArabic
- মলুৱা বান্দৰAssamese
- Макак-рэзусBelarusian
- রেসাস বানরBangla
- rhesusCzech
- RhesusabeDanish
- RhesusaffeGerman
- Μακάκος ΡέζουςGreek
- RezusoEsperanto
- Mono ResusSpanish
- Macaca mulattaSpanish
- reesusmakakiFinnish
- Macaque RhésusFrench
- માંકડુંGujarati
- Rezus makakiCroatian
- rézuszmajomHungarian
- Macaco rhesusItalian
- アカゲザルJapanese
- 붉은털원숭이Korean
- 히말라야원숭이Korean
- RezusasLithuanian
- माकडMarathi
- RhesusapeNorwegian Bokmål
- ResusaapDutch
- RezusPolish
- makak królewskiPolish
- Macaco-rhesusPortuguese
- РезусRussian
- Макак-резусRussian
- резус макакиSerbian
- RhesusapaSwedish
- ลิงวอกThai
- Hint şebeğiTurkish
- Макака резусUkrainian
- Khỉ vàngVietnamese
- 獼猴Chinese
- 普通獼猴Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the rhesus macaque
Other species in the same genus Macaca.
Barbary macaque
Macaca sylvanus
Japanese macaque
Macaca fuscata
Crab-eating macaque
Macaca fascicularis
Lion-tailed macaque
Macaca silenus
Celebes crested macaque
Macaca nigra
Stump-tailed macaque
Macaca arctoides
CompareRhesus macaque vs Barbary macaqueRhesus macaque vs Japanese macaqueRhesus macaque vs Crab-eating macaqueRhesus macaque vs Lion-tailed macaque
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the rhesus macaque?
The rhesus macaque is a mammal in the order Primates and the family Cercopithecidae. It is also called the Rhesus monkey or Nazuri monkey.
How heavy is a rhesus macaque?
An adult Rhesus macaque has a body mass of 3.7 kg, with a highest reported value of 9.16 kg.
What does the rhesus macaque eat?
The rhesus macaque is a herbivore.
What habitat does the rhesus macaque live in?
The rhesus macaque lives in forest and grassland. It is diurnal and scansorial.
Is the rhesus macaque endangered?
No. The rhesus macaque is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a rhesus macaque live?
The rhesus macaque has a lifespan of 34.6 years, with a highest reported value of 40 years.
How many young does a rhesus macaque have?
The rhesus macaque has 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation of 165 days. It reaches sexual maturity at 4.4 years.
Who named the rhesus macaque?
The rhesus macaque, Macaca mulatta, was named by Zimmermann in 1780, written as (Zimmermann, 1780).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rhesus-macaque
“Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rhesus-macaque.
@misc{rhesus_macaque_2026,
title = {Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rhesus-macaque},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}