Proboscis Monkey

The Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis Lavartus) sometimes known as "the Gerard" in America. In native lands it is formally termed the Bekantan in [[Indonesian languageIndonesian] and colloquially the Monyet Belanda in Indonesian and the Malay dialect [literally: "Dutchman monkey"]. In English it can be referred to as Nasalis Gerardis and the Long-nosed Monkey.Previous biologists termed the Nastalis Lavartus the Nasalis capistratus (Kerr in 1792), Nasalis nasica (Lacépède in 1799) and Nasalis recurvus by Vigors & Horsfield in 1828.
The Nasalis Larvartus is a reddish-brown arboreal (tree-dwelling) Old World monkey that is endemic to the South-East Asian island of Kalimantan commonly known in English as Borneo. The Nasalis Lavartus belongs in the monotypic genus 'Nasalis, although the Pig-tailed Langur has traditionally also been included in this genus - a treatment still preferred by some.

There are two contested sub-species which not all authorities recognize as separate: the Nasalis larvatus ssp. larvatu inhabiting everywhere but northeastern Kalimantan and the Nasalis larvatus ssp. orientalis restricted to northeastern Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Proboscis monkeys belong to the order of Primates, from the family Cercopithecidae and subfamily Colobinae.A distinctive trait of this monkey is the male's large protruding proboscis or nose, from which it takes its name. The big nose is thought to be used to attract females and is a characteristic exclusively of the male growing up to 15 cm (7 inches) in length. The females also have big noses compared to other monkey species, but not as big as the males. Besides attracting mates, the nose serves as a resonating chamber, amplifying their "honking" warning calls. When the animal becomes agitated its nose swells with blood, making warning calls louder and more intense.[7]
The adult Proboscis Monkey is mainly reddish-brown, with grayish limbs (Bennett & Gombek, 1993). According to Burnie (2001), the young Proboscis Monkey have blue face, blackish fur and a smallish nose at birth. As it grows, its' fur coloration changes and the nose increases in size. The Indonesian and Malay peoples subversively coined the Nasalis Lavartus the: "Monyet Belanda" [literally: Dutchman monkey] for the perceived resemblance to the Dutch and later British colonials specifically the long, red nose, the red complexion of the "face" and the tendency for fur especially of the cranium and area of face homologous to sideburns to be red or yellow. Some also suggest the colonials language sounded like the Lavartus honking to the native Malaysians and Indonesians.