Phayre’s leaf monkeys

Phayre's leaf monkey (Trachypithecus phayrei), also known as Phayre's langur, is a species of lutung found in Southeast Asia. The species epithet commemorates Arthur Purves Phayre. 

Its range includes Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

Adult Phayre’s leaf monkeys are completely grey while their newborn babies are bright orange. Lucky the females don’t live in orangutan country or they’d have some serious explaining to do.

It is mostly arboreal and feeds on leaves of a large number of tree species. A study in Tripura, India found the principal food tree species to be Albizzia procera, Melocanna bambusoides, Callicarpa arborea, Dillenia pentagyna, Litsea sp., Albizzia lebbek, Mikania scandens, Gmelina arborea, Artocarpus chaplasha, Syzygium fruticosum, Ficus fistulosa, Ficus racemosa, Ficus hispida, Ficus indica. Macaranga denticulata and Albizzia stipulata.

There are three accepted subspecies of this lutung:


Trachypithecus phayrei phayrei
Trachypithecus phayrei crepusculus
Trachypithecus phayrei shanicus