Barbary macaque (redirected from Macaca sylvanus)

Barbary macaque

Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvana).

(credit: Tom McHugh/Photo Researchers)

Tailless, terrestrial monkey (Macaca sylvana) found in groups in Algeria and Morocco and on the Rock of Gibraltar. It is about 24 in. (60 cm) long and has yellowish brown fur and a bald, pale pink face. Lacking a tail, this macaque has often been incorrectly called an ape. It is the only wild monkey in Europe and may have arrived in medieval times, taken westward during the Muslim Arab territorial expansion. According to legend, British dominion over Gibraltar will end when the Barbary macaque departs.