Japanese snow monkeys consume riverine organisms

The Japanese macaque (snow monkey - Macaca fuscata) is native to the main islands of Japan, except Hokkaido, and is the most northerly living non-human primate. In the study area Kamikochi of Chubu Sangaku National Park, snow monkeys live in one of the coldest areas of the world for a primate with winter temperatures dropping to -20-30C. Snow monkeys typically feed on fruits, seeds, mature and young leaves, and flowers, but can also consume fungi and terrestrial invertebrates . In this study, using high throughput sequencing, we demonstrated that the snow monkeys eat aquatic insects from rivers.