People all over the globe are currently celebrating the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Monkey. In the Chinese zodiac, the Monkey is the ninth animal in the 12-year cycle. There is also a sequence of five vital elements: Gold, water, wood, fire and earth. This year is fire - which means it is a Fire Monkey year.
Interestingly, people born in the Year of the Monkey are defined by two characteristics: Competition and challenge - traits that would be extremely useful in any aspiring record-breakers in 2016.
Here Guinness World Records welcomes in the Fire Monkey year by sharing some extraordinary record titles held by the fascinating creatures...
1. Longest primate nose
Proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus, pictured above), found only on the island of Borneo, have pendulous noses reaching up to 17.5 cm (6.8 in) long in elderly male specimens.
The proboscis monkey’s nose, which is often large enough to hang over the mouth, becomes red and swollen when the monkey is in danger or excited, and acts as a resonator when it makes its characteristic honking warning sound.
2. Most northerly primate
Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) live in the mountainous Jigokudani area of Honshu, Japan. Humans aside, they are the northernmost population of primates.
Also known as snow monkeys, they survive the -15°C (5°F) winters by warming themselves in the hot volcanic springwater. The water temperatures can reach 43°C (109°F), so the snow monkeys will test the water with a few tentative splashes before easing themselves in. They leave the waters before nightfall, giving themselves time to dry off otherwise, they risk freezing to death.
3. Newest monkey
The most recent species of monkey to have been scientifically recognized is the white-cheeked macaque (Macaca leucogenys).
Native to the tropical forests of south-eastern Tibet, it was officially described in March 2015, and is readily distinguished from other macaques by the male’s genitals and also a ruff of long, thick fur around its neck. It is distinguished from other local macaques by the white whiskers on its cheeks, the shape of the male’s genitals and a ruff of fur around its neck.
4. Noisiest land animal
The world's noisiest land animals are the howler monkeys (Alouatta) of Central and South America.
The males have an enlarged bony structure at the top of the windpipe which enables the sound to reverberate, and their fearsome screams have been described as a cross between the bark of a dog and the bray of an ass increased a thousandfold. Once in full voice they can be heard clearly up to 4.8 km (3 miles) away.
5. Fastest monkey
The patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) is a large, ground-dwelling species of orange and grey monkey native to semi-arid areas in West and East Africa, including Nigeria, the two Congos and Kenya. Living in open savannahs and semi-deserts, it has evolved into a swift runner, attaining speeds of 55 km/h, making it the world's fastest monkey.
This species lives in multi-female groups of up to 60 individuals but only containing a single male for much of the year. The reproductive rate is unusually high and its lifespan very short, often as little as four years, with females becoming reproductively active at the age of three on average, but often dying once they have given birth and raised either a single offspring or two at most.
In short, the patas's lifestyle very much epitomises the popular idiom "Live fast, die young".
