Infanticide in Langur Monkeys (Genus Presbytis): Recent Research and a Review of Hypotheses

Abstract

The purpose of this symposium was to evaluate current hypotheses about the reproductive strategies of male and female langur monkeys (Genus Presbytis) in the light of new data from long-term field studies of this genus. To this end, scientists representing several different long-term studies of langurs, as well as theoreticians and researchers familiar with the behavior of other Colobines, met on 4–6 July 1980 at the Istituto di Antropologia e Paleontologia Umana in Pisa. A list of symposium participants is given in the last section of this report; Fig. 1 shows the study sites represented by these individuals. The meeting resulted in a productive and congenial exchange of ideas on langur social behavior, although all participants regretted that financial and personal reasons prevented the attendance of those colleagues from India, Japan, and the United States who are engaged in research on langur behavior at sites other than those represented at the symposium.