The Wildlife of Malaysia are some of the most diverse on earth, with majority of the country covered in rainforest.
Malaysia post issued beautiful stamps featuring Malaysian Primates, as a part of Chinese new year Celebration and to welcome the Year of the Monkey.
The stamp issue is continuation of the “Primates in Malaysia Series 1?, released in 2003 featuring the Red Leaf Monkey and Proboscis Monkey.
The current stamps features artistic illustrations of four primate species found in the Malaysian forest, namely the Silvered Leaf Monkey, Macaque, White-handed Gibbon, and Agile Gibbon.
Malaysian Primates
Malaysia is recognised as one of 12 mega-diversity countries with many of its species occurring in unusually high densities. The Malaysian rainforest hosts a huge diversity of plant and animal species, with Monkeys one of them.
The Malaysian Primates featured on stamps are the Silvered Leaf Monkey, Macaque, White-handed Gibbon, and Agile Gibbon.
# Silvered Leaf Monkey
Silvered leaf monkeys are small monkeys with long tails and silvery fur. The silvered leaf monkeys are easily recognisable due to its dark, silver-tipped fur and dark-skinned face. They live in the mangrove and subcoastal forests on the Malaysian Peninsula. Silvered leaf monkeys are arboreal, which means they stick primarily to trees, leaving only when they have to. Males usually live alone, with a group of all males or with a group of all females.
Silvered leaf monkeys have a preference for young, tender leaves, but have been known to eat fruit, seeds and flowers. This species of monkey is not endangered, but it has been considered threatened since 1996 because of habitat destruction.
# Macaque Monkeys
Macaques live in many different habitats across the globe, making them the most widely distributed genus of nonhuman primates. Macaques have a very intricate social structure and hierarchy. Macaques are commonly used in research particularly in the neuroscience of visual perception and the visual system.
# White-handed gibbon
A beautiful and captivating primate, the white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar) is a master of agility. The white-handed gibbon possesses the long arms and hands typical of gibbon species, which are perfectly suited to this pendulous swinging from branch to branch.
The gibbon is considered frugivorous with fruit constituting 50% of its diet, but leaves (29%) are a substantial part, with insects (13%) and flowers (9%) forming the remainder.
# Agile Gibbon
The agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis), also known as the black-handed gibbon, is an Old World primate in the gibbon family. It is found in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra, Malaysia, and southern Thailand. They live in the upper canopy of the forest, feeding on fruits, leaves, and insects. Members of Hylobates spend most of their lives in the trees, and rarely descend to the ground.
Agile gibbons come in a variety of different colors, including black, brown, light tan and reddish-brown. Males and females can be easily distinguished by the white eyebrows and cheeks possessed by the males.
Title: Malaysian Primates stamps Celebrating Chinese New Year
Date of Issue: 26 January 2016
Country: Malaysia
Denominations: 60sen, 70sen, 80sen, RM6.35
Source: Malaysia Stamps
The post Malaysian Primates stamps Celebrating Chinese New Year of the Monkey appeared first on Latest Stamp News and Stamp Collecting Updates.