AnimalsThe rhesus macaque is the common brown monkey of northern India, with a pink face. It lives in large troops and is very much at home around people, temples and markets.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Macaca mulatta
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Omnivore (eats plants and animals)
- Lives in
- South, South-East and East Asia
- Habitat
- Forests, hills, towns and temples
- A young one is called
- infant
- A group is called
- troop
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Primates
- Family Cercopithecidae
- Genus Macaca
- Species Macaca mulatta
Other members of the family Cercopithecidae on this site: northern plains gray langur.
More distant relatives in the order Primates: Bornean orangutan, chimpanzee, ring-tailed lemur, Western gorilla.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The rhesus macaque is listed as Least Concern. The species is widespread or numerous enough that it is not considered at risk of extinction at present.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.